Health aide, elderly man killed in East Harlem senior center shooting, per NYPD

A man and a woman were shot to death Thursday night at an East Harlem public housing complex, police said.

Officials said they responded to a 911 call from the Gaylord White Houses on East 104th Street and 2nd Avenue, part of a New York City Housing Authority complex, around 8:30 p.m.

When they arrived, they found Elsa Espina-Espinal, 55, and Wilgen Elias Severino-Tatis, 66, with gunshot wounds to their heads, police said. Officials from the Department of Aging told Gothamist the incident happened in senior public housing at the complex.

Police said it was unclear if the incident was a murder-suicide, or whether there was another suspect. They did not have a description of a possible perpetrator early Friday.

Officials said Espina-Espinal lived in the Bronx and was a home health aide. Severino-Tatis lives nearby the senior center but police have not said if Espina-Espinal was working for him.

Shooting incidents in the 23 precinct – which serves East Harlem north of East 96th Street – are down by more than 37% this year compared to last year, according to NYPD data . There has been one other murder in the precinct so far this year.

Though gun violence is also down compared to last year in East Harlem’s public housing complexes, police data shows there have been two other murders in the sector this year, whereas last year by this time there were none.

This story has been updated with new information, and to correct the location where police found shooting victims.