A Venezuelan immigrant operating a mobile car wash in Queens was shot and killed Friday night — and locals believe an ongoing turf battle over business may have sparked the bloodshed.
Jairo Javier Vinces-Cobena’s was gunned down by a shooter riding a moped around the corner from his home on 55th Avenue near 97th Place in Corona at about 8 p.m., according to cops.
His body was found riddled with bullets, leaving the sidewalk stained with blood.
EMS rushed the 36-year-old victim to Elmhurst Hospital in critical condition but he died, police said.
No arrests were made as of Saturday night.
The victim has been in the country for three or four years and started a corner car wash with friends, said Luca Estrella, owner of Estrella Auto Care Center.
“They got into a big argument last year and someone got stabbed,” recalled Estrella, who worked on the victim’s automobile. “He was buying and selling cars – a young entrepreneur.”
Estrella believes the shooting might have been over the business.
“It’s like a fight for power,” he said. “You got people trying to make it in the streets. The mobile car wash is at almost every corner. It’s like a war zone.”
The victim always seemed happy, Estrella said.
“To me, he always said ‘Hello,’ laughing, smiling, happy,” the shop owner said. “I never saw him as someone violent, disrespectful or going for vengence.”
The victim’s neighbor said she heard the gunshots and what sounded like a woman’s scream.
“I heard three gun shots back to back and then a couple of seconds after I heard somebody scream, ‘Oh my God!’ in Spanish,” said the neighbor, who didn’t want to be identified. “It sounded like a woman.”
The neighbor didn’t leave her home but said she saw police arriving from her window.
“I’m scared,” she said. “There seems to be a lot of commotions around here. It has always been like this.”
