An off-duty Port Authority police officer killed his sister and critically injured his mother before committing suicide in a horrific domestic incident in the Bronx, New York City, on January 22, 2026, according to police sources.
The tragic event took place just before 8 a.m. within a ground-level apartment at 2500 Johnson Avenue, located in the Spuyten Duyvil neighborhood of the Bronx, situated just above Upper Manhattan. Three individuals were shot in the incident, resulting in two fatalities at the scene.
Responding to a 911 call reporting multiple gunshots from the apartment building’s reception, officers from the 50th Precinct arrived to find a 55-year-old man with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head in the hallway. A gun was discovered near his body, along with a Port Authority Police Department ID card.
The man, identified as Mario Garcia, 55, an off-duty Port Authority police officer with 23 years of service, was declared dead at the scene.
Upon entering a bedroom within the apartment, officers encountered a 59-year-old woman with a gunshot wound to the head. She, too, was declared dead at the scene and was later identified as Maria Garcia, 59, the sister of the deceased man.
In another part of the apartment, police discovered an 86-year-old woman, presumed to be the mother of the shooter and his sister, with a gunshot wound to her face. She was immediately transported to Harlem Hospital, where she remains in critical but stable condition.
The incident is currently being investigated as a domestic shooting by detectives. Police sources said investigators are exploring whether the shooting stemmed from a family dispute over caring for the siblings’ 86-year-old mother, who had recently moved in with Maria Garcia. Sources indicated Mario Garcia had been accused by family members of not doing enough to help care for their mother.
Neighbor Jane Burbank shared, “She was a wonderful person, she was full of life. She loved to dance, she loved to get people together, she loved to cook, she loved to eat.”
Maria, who was employed by New York State, was known for her love of dancing and traveling. She was eagerly anticipating her retirement to travel more, according to Burbank. The shocking incident has residents in disbelief.
Elise Langan, another resident, painted a picture of the chaotic scene outside the apartment building. Langan recounted, “I looked out my window, and I saw an immersion of cars and ambulances and so forth. And then my neighbor told me that she had heard from somebody in the building that there had been a murder, and then I heard from someone else that it’s a suicide-homicide.”
Daniel Gallant, a resident of the building where the tragic shooting took place, was in disbelief that such an act of violence could happen in his own home.
The investigation is ongoing as detectives strive to piece together the events that led to the devastating domestic incident in the early hours of January 22.