A 30-year-old father with Dominican origins was shot in the face in his 4th Floor apartment in Melrose, Bronx

David Disla was found face down on the second floor of his building in the Bronx with a bullet in his face after descending three flights of stairs.

In a heart-wrenching incident in the Bronx, David Disla, a 30-year-old Dominican-born man, met a tragic end. Authorities report that Disla was fatally shot in the face in his apartment, located in a building on E. 160th Street near Melrose Avenue in Melrose.

In a desperate attempt to survive, he walked down three flights of stairs while bleeding profusely, only to collapse and die on the second floor.

The incident occurred on Saturday night at 11:10 p.m., and officers found Disla face down, marking a grim scene. Awilda Rodriguez, 63, a resident of the same block, recounted:

“I saw someone on the gurney, and he was pumping. There was so much blood. They were rushing him so fast. I said, ‘God bless whoever it is. I hope he makes it.’ Then I saw on the news that she didn’t make it.”

Disla was transported to Lincoln Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

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A Trail of Blood

The Daily News reported that Disla’s ordeal began in his fourth-floor apartment, No. 16. A chilling trail of blood led from his door, covering stairs, handrails, and walls, all the way to the building’s front door. “I saw the blood on the floor,” said a neighbor who identified himself as Miguel. “I was stunned. I went back inside. Now that I saw it, I went downstairs. I was terrified. It was so much blood.”

A family friend who opened the door to Disla’s house in Kingsbridge Heights remembered him as a devoted father of two and one of six siblings. “Very good father, very good son, very good friend,” the friend said. His family, originally from the Dominican Republic, is left to mourn his untimely death. “He was happy,” the friend added.

Ongoing Investigation on Disla’s Murder

Currently, there have been no arrests in connection with Disla’s murder. Detectives believe that at least five people may have witnessed the event, but all left the scene immediately.

This murder adds to a troubling increase in homicides in the Bronx’s 42nd Precinct. As of Oct. 29, there have been 11 homicides, a staggering 120% increase over the five murders during the same period in 2022. This contrasts sharply with the overall homicide rate in New York City, which has seen a decrease of 11%, from 368 murders last year to 326 through Oct. 29 this year.