Bronx man shot 8 times over gold chain

SOUNDVIEW, Bronx (WABC) -- This shooting was all over a gold chain, police say, but it is the brutal outcome that has neighborhood residents greatly concerned.

"He's a decent man that goes to work every day, so I am appalled at what has happened to him," Njema Iyun Matthews said.

Matthews is relieved his fellow tenant is still alive after police believe a young man approached the 62-year-old and shot him eight times because the victim would not give up a gold chain.

"I have seen him on the block, but I don't know him and I don't know his name. I've been a resident here since the 1980's and he is not a member or a resident of this street," Matthews said.

Right across the street from where he lives, the victim was walking along Boynton Avenue around 8 p.m. Sunday in front of an apartment building, when he was approached from behind by the suspect who yelled "give me the chain." As the victim turned around, police say the suspect fired eight times, hitting him in his torso and legs. A 30-year-old man was also hit in the knee.

"I'm sorry that it happened. It shouldn't have happened. You know these young guys the do the wrong thing, at the wrong time and people get caught up in certain situations," said one resident, who wished to remain anonymous.

The suspect fled, but was captured in pictures from nearby security cameras. Police are hoping someone can identify him.

"This neighborhood, Boynton and Watson, is rough," said David Jefferson, a resident.

Jefferson knows the victim as a good man who has worked at several stores in the area. He believes the neighborhood has become dangerous because of drugs.