The 9/11 murder mystery that continues to haunt investigators
BEDFORD-STUYVESANT, Brooklyn (WABC) -- Few situations exist in which one can draw a parallel to the men and women who lost their lives on 9/11. But, retired NYPD detective Michael Prate said one does stick out in his mind - the murder of Henryk Siwiak in Brooklyn during the last few minutes of that tragic day.
"It's like book ends," Prate told Eyewitness News investigative reporter Kristin Thorne. "They left in the morning, their family and they did nothing else but show up for work; this man did nothing else other than go to work that night, nothing else. That's what sticks in my mind all these years later."
Prate was working in the 79th precinct in Brooklyn on September 11. He remembers hearing about the 911 calls that came in around 11:40 p.m. about a male shot on Albany Avenue in Bed-Stuy.
Siwiak, 46, a recent Polish immigrant, was supposed to be at his first night at a new job at a grocery store in Brooklyn. He got on the A train and that's where he made a fatal error.
Instead of getting out at the 1500 block of Albany Avenue where the grocery store was, Siwiak ended up four miles away in the first block of Albany Avenue in Bed-Stuy.
"I'm assuming he was just lost and when he got down there, he just stepped into the lion's den," Prate said.
Prate said the area around Albany Avenue was a dangerous block rampant with drugs, gangs and guns.
"It was dangerous for the police to be on that block," he recalled.
Prate said a group of individuals accosted Siwiak - perhaps in an attempted robbery. They shot Siwiak several times and left him lying on the sidewalk in a pool of his own blood.
Siwiak's murder was the only homicide in New York City on 9/11 outside of the attacks at the World Trade Center.
Prate said NYPD officers responded to the crime scene, but the response was lacking in some ways due to the attention needed at Ground Zero.
"Limited man power, limited detectives," he said. "It's the perfect storm of chaos."
Prate said detectives continued to work the case for years determined to find Siwiak's killer, even contacting people who used to live on the block and who may be willing to share information.
Prate said he knows one day the case will be solved.
"He is truly an innocent victim," he said. "The Wrong block, at the wrong time, on the wrong day and he's murdered. That case is close-able."
Eyewitness News asked the NYPD to interview the detective currently working the Siwiak case, but the NYPD said they could not accommodate an interview.
If you know anything about the murder of Henryk Siwiak, call NYPD Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
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DO YOU NEED A STORY INVESTIGATED? Dan Krauth, Kristin Thorne, and the 7 On Your Side Investigates team at Eyewitness News want to hear from you! Call our confidential tip line 1-877-TIP-NEWS (847-6397) or fill out the form BELOW.
