1 man dead, 13-year-old girl struck in triple shooting in East Williamsburg

BROOKLYN, N.Y. (WABC) -- One person was fatally shot and two others, including a 13-year-old girl, were wounded in Brooklyn Tuesday morning.

Caught in the act, several men chased down a group of apparent car thieves not knowing they were armed.

A father of two was tragically killed, while two other victims including an innocent 13 year-old-girl are now recovering in the hospital as police continue to search for the gunman.

Police are now reviewing several surveillance videos as they try to identify a trio of bold car thieves last seen scoping out vehicles along Grattan St. in East Williamsburg early Tuesday.

Investigators say the suspects stole items from several cars before they set their sights on a white van parked outside a metal shop, but workers there caught two of them inside the vehicle and a deadly confrontation followed.

"We saw the guys breaking into people's cars and two of the guys from the shop had a car parked out there," said Derrick Robinson, a metal shop worker.

Robinson spoke to Eyewitness News by phone and relayed the details of what happened next when he and three of his coworkers decided to follow the thieves.

In a matter of moments, he says at least one pulled out a gun unleashing a spray of gunfire in broad daylight.

When the commotion settled, Robinson was struck twice in the side and ear, along with an innocent 13-year-old girl on her way to school who was grazed, but his coworker 53-year-old Michael Matusiak didn't make it.

"Mike was a nice guy. Mike was the nicest guy I ever come across," Robinson said.

"That he was loving and caring and he wanted to marry me," said Ivonne Carrasquillo, the victim's fiancee.

Michael's grief stricken fiancee says they had been together for 12 years, and he adored his two daughters.

Police are continuing to search for the suspects responsible and have also released video of a man wanted for questioning.

"I hope to god they find these guys," Robinson said.

"That was wrong you didn't have to kill him, you could've injured him, you didn't have to kill him that was my man, you didn't have to take away my man," Carrasquillo said.

The three suspects are believed to have fired a total of five shots. They are all described as males in their 20s.