Police have identified a suspect in the June 10 fatal shooting of a gay man in the Hamilton Heights section of Manhattan.
Eric Bautista, 20, is wanted for killing 40-year-old Winston McKay, who was innocently walking his dog hours at Amsterdam Avenue and West 146th Street after celebrating his wedding anniversary when he was shot in the leg during a shooting gone wrong.
Cops say Bautista intended to fire his gun at a different person, but missed and instead struck McKay in an artery. He was pronounced dead at Harlem Hospital.
Police were able to identify Bautista after releasing surveillance video footage of him to the general public.
McKay’s husband, Terry Solomon, told the Daily News that he and his husband had just held a large anniversary celebration with friends and loved ones at Donnellan Square, a park near their home. They spent $2,000 on food for the event, which was just hours before the tragic shooting.
Solomon had just gone to sleep when his husband left to walk the dog at around 2 a.m., and received a phone call about the shooting and frantically rushed to the scene. He arrived after McKay’s body had been taken away in an ambulance — and cops initially did not seem to believe him when he said he was the victim’s husband.
Solomon spent hours at the hospital waiting for an opportunity to see McKay’s body, but was barred from doing so because authorities were investigating the death.
Bautista is described as being 5’8” and 170 pounds with braided hair. He was last seen donning a red hooded sweater, a blue jacket, gray sweatpants, and black and white sneakers.
Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers line at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). To call in Spanish, dial 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). Folks can also submit tips online by visiting www.nypdc
