"For a shooting to take place in a rec center is crazy. There's no security there to protect people going to enjoy themselves."
The center's manager – a man named José – said a security guard would be coming back. "We had one but not anymore."
The recreation center on Jesup Ave. was supposed to be a refuge, a place of calm in a rough-and-tumble neighborhood near the Cross Bronx Expressway.
Residents of Mount Eden could run around the track or play hoops at the Highbridge Community Life Center. But that all changed Monday when someone shot Derick Cochran, 37, dead on the center's basketball court as he played in a pickup game.
Residents now mourn the loss of something intangible and worthwhile: a place where mostly children come to spend time after school.
"It's wrong . . . I mean, we live in the 'hood, no doubt about that," said Daury Betances, a 26-year-old father of two whose daughter, Nicole, often plays at the center. "But problems can be handled differently and certainly in a different place from where they handled their trouble on Monday."
Thursday, the center's hoops court remained closed.
Crystal (r.) cries after hearing that her boyfriend, Derrick Cochran was shot on the basketball court of the West Bronx Recreation on Monday.
Betances recalled the wild scene that erupted around 3 p.m. Monday. "I was sitting on my stoop and there was a group of 10 or 12 kids. I figured they were coming from school to play basketball."
"Three minutes after they went inside, everyone started to run out. I thought they closed the gym, but then I saw the worry on people's faces.
"Some guy bleeding from the face came out, stumbled on the steps, got up and then fell again in the middle of the street. He eventually got up and ran away with those young kids."
"I can't believe that happened," said Jocasta Hernandez-Santana, 44, who lives across from the center and runs on the track. "The guy is dead? You would think he would be safe in a recreation center."
The crime's brazenness shocked even residents who claim to have seen everything.
"It's messed up," added Clemetin Allen, 46, who frequents the center.
"For a shooting to take place in a rec center is crazy. There's no security there to protect people going to enjoy themselves."
The center's manager – a man named José – said a security guard would be coming back. "We had one but not anymore."
The city's Parks Department, which farmed out responsibility for the center to the Highbridge organization, would not comment on the shooting. Highbridge did not return calls.
"It's terrible. Where are our kids safe at?" asked Deirdre Meyers, 38, a mother of two.
No arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing.
Read More:
Shooting at basketball game in Highbridge recreation center has Bronx neighborhood residents on edge
New York Daily News - April 8, 2011 - By Mike Jaccarino
Man Shot Dead In West Bronx Recreation Center - No Security
A Walk In The Park - April 5, 2011
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