Work Grievance Suspected in Bronx Triple Shooting
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A suspect apparently bent on seeking revenge for losing his longtime job at Co-Op City in the Bronx went on a shooting spree this morning that left his former boss dead and a co-worker critically injured, police and sources said.
The suspect, Paulino Valenzuela, 50, shot and killed his former supervisor, Audley Bent, 49, at about 7:50 a.m. in the basement of a building at 2440 Hunter Ave. in Co-Op City.
Mr. Valenzuela then walked to an adjacent building at 2400 Hunter Ave. and shot two more people, police said. One of the victims, Palas Sader, a former co-worker of Mr. Valenzuela, was left in critical condition and likely paralyzed after taking a bullet to the neck, and the other victim, Phil Zudrima, a former supervisor of Mr. Valenzuela, sustained a gun shot to the arm, police and sources said.
After the shootings, Mr. Valenzuela took a public bus to Central Booking inside the Bronx Criminal Court House, turned himself in, and surrendered a .38 caliber firearm to authorities, police said.
Mr. Valenzuela worked as a porter for the company that manages Co-Op City, RiverBay, from 1994 until he was fired in February 2005 for getting a series of suspensions for violent conduct toward co-workers and supervisors, including two of the victims, Bent and Mr. Zudrima.
