On Thursday, January 22, 2026, a family’s peaceful, affluent cooperative known as the Winston Churchill at 2500 Johnson Avenue in Spuyten Duyvil, a verdant neighborhood on the northwest side of the Bronx with a view of the Hudson River, had a disastrous morning.
The 20-story building, home to long-term residents in a quiet neighborhood near Kappock Street, had rarely seen serious crime beyond occasional minor incidents. Yet just before 8 a.m., the sharp crack of gunshots pierced the calm of a lower-level apartment, alerting the doorman who immediately dialed 911 to report the disturbing sounds.
New York Police Department officers arrived swiftly at the well-maintained brick structure, entering the building and proceeding to the first-floor hallway and adjacent apartment where the violence had unfolded.
They discovered a grim scene: a 55-year-old man slumped in the hallway with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, a firearm nearby along with his Port Authority Police identification. Inside the apartment, the horror continued with two women bearing gunshot wounds to their heads, one fatally and the other clinging to life amid the sudden chaos of a domestic dispute turned deadly.
The man, identified as Mario Garcia, a 23-year veteran of the Port Authority Police Department most recently assigned to the aircraft emergency response team at LaGuardia Airport, had apparently shot his 59-year-old sister, Maria Garcia, while she lay in bed, killing her instantly.
He then turned the weapon on their 86-year-old mother in another room, inflicting a severe facial wound before directing it at himself outside the apartment door. Two handguns were recovered at the scene, underscoring the intensity of the brief but devastating episode.
Maria Garcia owned the apartment where the shooting occurred, and her elderly mother had recently moved in with her, a arrangement that neighbors and friends viewed as supportive amid the mother’s vibrant later years filled with dancing, cooking, traveling, and family celebrations, including a recent milestone anniversary for her long marriage. The family appeared close-knit on the surface, with no reported prior domestic violence calls to the address, leaving those who knew them stunned by the abrupt unraveling.
Mario Garcia, described in professional circles as a dedicated officer with prior postings at the George Washington Bridge, lived in the same building and had access to the family’s shared spaces. Sources indicated recent arguments over the ongoing care of his aging mother may have contributed to tensions, though investigators have not confirmed a definitive motive as they continue examining the dynamics within the household.
As the 86-year-old mother was rushed to Harlem Hospital in critical but stable condition, expected to survive her injuries, the NYPD’s investigation proceeded with crime scene processing and interviews, ruling out any outside suspects. The incident, classified as an apparent attempted murder-suicide gone partially awry, left the close community in the Winston Churchill building and broader Spuyten Duyvil area grappling with shock, while highlighting the hidden strains that can erupt even in seemingly peaceful homes.