‘Law & Order: Organized Crime’ Crew Member Murdered In Brooklyn

A production staffer was fatally shot early Tuesday morning in Greenpoint, Brooklyn as he was securing parking spots for the shooting locations of Law & Order: Organized Crime. Police have said the victim was sitting in his car in Greenpoint when a lone attacker opened the door and shot him in the head and neck.

The victim was identified as Johnny Pizarro, 31, from Queens. He was shot at around 5:15 a.m. and then pronounced dead after being transferred to Woodhull Hospital Center in Brooklyn.

Pizarro’s killer has not been arrested or identified yet. Police say that a short, thin man wearing a black hooded sweatshirt and dark pants was seen fleeing the scene shortly after the shooting.

When filming projects in New York City, productions above a certain size are required to obtain permits for shooting exterior location scenes. Most locals are used to seeing blocks occasionally cordoned off for film shoots, and Pizarro was working for a company contracted by productions to hold parking spots for crew vehicles.

A spokeswoman for NBC and Universal Television, the home network for the Law & Order franchise, said, “We were terribly saddened and shocked to hear that one of our crew members was the victim of a crime earlier this morning and has died as a result. We are working with local law enforcement as they continue to investigate.”

Organized Crime is the show’s seventh spin-off series currently in its third season. It stars Christopher Meloni reprising his role as Elliot Stabler from one of the show’s most famous spinoffs: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.