By Howard Koplowitz
Police said that at 1:02 p.m., the victim, only identified as a 20-year-old black male, was shot twice in the stomach and once in the left arm during a street confrontation on 119-33 224th St. The suspect, an unidentified black male, fled in a beige Honda after the incident, police said. The victim was taken to North Shore Hospital where he was listed in stable condition as of Tuesday, according to police. An investigation was still ongoing, police said.Jessie Rigaud, 17, of 223-02 Francis Lewis Blvd., said she was in her backyard hanging clothing on a clothesline when she heard a man in his early 20s wearing a white shirt screaming that his friend was shot. She said she saw another man, around 22, wearing a black shirt lying outside her house. She said he was bleeding from his side. Rigaud then said she called 911 and four police cars carrying detectives arrived on the scene as helicopters hovered nearby.”I was kinda scared because the guy was bleeding, so I called the police,” she later said in an interview.Before the wounded man and his friend turned up near Rigaud's home, the victim first banged on a door four houses down on 224-14 Francis Lewis Blvd., according to a woman who lives there. The woman said she did not feel comfortable opening up her door.Rigaud said the wounded man was shaking but still appeared calm and was even talking on his cell phone.Her father, Julio Rigaud, said he heard a car speed away but he did not hear any gunshots and neither did Jessie Rigaud. Both Julio and Jessie Rigaud said they still feel safe despite the recent violence. They added that they never saw the victim or his friend around the area.”It's still a quiet and nice neighborhood,” Julio Rigaud said of Cambria Heights.Asked if she was nervous after the recent shootings, Jessie Rigaud replied, “I'm not that type of person.”Reach reporter Howard Koplowitz by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 173
