A man stumbled on the shopping cart at Atlantic Avenue and Pennsylvania Avenue in East New York at around 1:45 a.m.
He started pushing the cart before deciding to look into a bag inside that he thought contained trash.
That is when he found the torso of an adult woman, believed to be possibly white or Hispanic, inside the bag.
The body did not appear to be decomposed.
Authorities say there were no shooting or stab wounds, and the woman did not appear to have any identifiable marks or tattoos on that part of her body.
Police searched nearby areas but did not find any more body parts.
A canvass of cameras on Atlantic Avenue turned up nothing so far. Authorities will look at surveillance video to see who may have left the shopping cart in the area.
The medical examiner will attempt to determine the woman's identity and cause of death.
No arrests have been made.
As news of the case spread, so did the fear among neighbors.
"Oh my God, Jesus Christ, cause nowadays anyone is not safe here anymore, I don't know what to do because I work around the corner," said Violet Rodriguez.
Other residents couldn't shake their concerns.
"They say New York is a dream, an American dream, but I don't feel safe," said resident Cynthia Jimenez. "I just wanna like, make this place safer."
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