A Law & Order: Organized Crime crew member was shot and killed on July 19 while on set in Brooklyn, New York. “This morning. Tuesday, July 18 at 5:15 AM, [a] man — who police later learned was Johnny Pizarro, 34, from Queens — was parked in front of 229 North Henry Street in Brooklyn when he was shot in the head and in the neck,” a NYPD public information officer confirmed to HollywoodLife. “EMS transported him to a local hospital where he was pronounced deceased. At the time he was doing no parking enforcement and we were told it was for the show Law & Order.” They added that there are currently no suspects and no arrests have been made, and it is an ongoing investigation. Other outlets have reported the victim as being 31 years old.
The shooting occurred in the Greenpoint neighborhood of Brooklyn and Johnny was pronounced dead upon arrival at the Woodhull Hospital, per CBS News. He was in charge of placing “No Parking” signs around the area and was “employed by a private company that was contracted by the production”, as reported by Variety.
There was no security from the NYPD’s Movie and TV unit at the time of the killing, per Deadline. It is not known if Johnny had connections to the killer. Another crew member from Law & Order: Organized Crime told Deadline he saw a man fleeing the scene with “something under his shirt” after the gunshots went off.
“We were terribly saddened and shocked to hear that one of our crew members was the victim of a crime early this morning and has died as a result,” NBC and studio Universal Television old Variety in a joint statement. “We are working with local law enforcement as they continue to investigate. Our hearts go out to his family and friends and we ask that you respect their privacy during this time.”
Furthermore, New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ office issued a statement following the tragedy. “The safety of all New Yorkers is our top priority. No shooting is acceptable, which is why we are working every day to get illegal guns off New York City streets,” the mayor’s press secretary, Fabien Levy, told Deadline. “The NYPD is actively investigating the fatal shooting of a crew member of Law and Order: Organized Crime early this morning. We offer our deepest condolences to the victim’s family, friends, and coworkers during this difficult time, and will work diligently to bring the suspect to justice and stem the tide of gun violence we are seeing.”
Plus, a resident of the block on which the shooting occurred was in disbelief that the loud bangs she heard Tuesday morning were gunshots. “I mean, this is crazy. This is insane,” the woman told CBS News. “We didn’t really even suspect it was gunshots, so we just went back to sleep… Later on, we woke up, and just cops everywhere.”