A mechanical shop worker was killed and two other people, including a teenage girl walking to school, were injured in a shooting when the worker tried to stop a thief as he was breaking into a car in Brooklyn's East Williamsburg Tuesday morning, authorities say.
Someone fired five shots at Knickerbocker Avenue and Grattan Street at about 8 a.m., according to the FDNY and NYPD. Michael Matusiak, 53, was pronounced dead after the shooting.
Matusiak's 57-year-old co-worker was wounded in the torso and ear, while a bullet grazed the left hip of a 13-year-old girl, a bystancer who was on her way to school.
Authorities say that shots rang out after the two men confronted three suspects allegedly opening car door and climbing in.
"They came out, interrupted the car break-in, challenged them and then they followed them around the corner,"" said NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce.
The surviving man and teenager were both taken to Elmhurst Hospital. They were listed in stable condition.
Matusiak had just started his job at the mechanical shop on Gratton Street.
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"He was the kind of guy, if he was walking past that kind of thing, he wouldn't let it happen," said Anthony Cabrera, a friend of Matusiak.
Cabrera said Matusiak leaves behind grown children and grandchildren.
"I can't believe it," he said. "He's a nice guy in the wrong place at the wrong time."
No arrests have been made. Investigators were at the scene dusting cars for fingerprints and searching the area for evidence. They believe the three men are responsible for a string of break-ins in the area. One neighbor said his car was broken into just Monday night, and sunglasses were stolen.
After the shooting, the suspects fled south on Knickerbocker Avenue. They're described as being in their 20s, one in a black sweatshirt, another in a gray sweatshirt and a third in a multi-colored sweatshirt (see photos below).