It’s that time of year when network television shows are getting back into production. For one NBC series, the Dick Wolf-produced Law & Order: Organized Crime, the show was dealing with an early call time when there was a shooting that happened while the series was filming. Tragically, one crew member lost their life, and in the hours since, more details have been breaking about what happened in the early hours of July 19th.
When news of the Law & Order shooting first broke, we learned an unidentified parking enforcement worker had been shot repeatedly by an unknown assailant. That parking worker was shot in the face and neck multiple times. They were later taken to the hospital, during which time they succumbed to the injuries. NBC later confirmed they were an employee of Law & Order spinoff starring Christopher Meloni and not an outside worker.
New details have come to light in the hours since. We now know Johnny Pizarro, 31, of Queens, is the Organized Crime crew member who died. Pizarro had been in a vehicle with an orange cone on the roof at the time. He was quickly taken to a hospital in Brooklyn, where he was pronounced dead around 6 a.m.
In addition, Deadline spoke with a crew member who was also working on the NBC series that day. That crew member told the outlet what he had seen around 5:15 a.m. when the shooting occurred. That employee alleges they’d seen a man “with something under his shirt” running away from the area where Johnny Pizarro had been stationed.
The show had been filming in Brooklyn that day, but a law enforcement officer also told the outlet they weren’t sure if it was “an established set” or not, or even near filming. The location is reportedly fairly close to Broadway Stages’ sound stages, and Law & Order: Organized Crime may have been filming inside at the time.
Meanwhile, the Mayor of New York Eric Adams' office also released a statement through a representative named Fabien Levy. (Though it's worth pointing out NY faced plenty of other issues yesterday, including a sinkhole.) That office noted:
The safety of all New Yorkers is our top priority. No shooting is acceptable, which is why we are working every day to get illegal guns off New York City streets. the NYPD is actively investigating the fatal shooting of a crew member of Law and Order: Organized Crime early this morning. We offer our deepest condolences to the victim’s family, friends, and coworkers during this difficult time, and will work diligently to bring the suspect to justice and stem the tide of gun violence we are seeing.
While Law & Order: Organized Crime had been renewed For Season 3 back in May, Christopher Meloni only recently confirmed the show was getting off the ground again on his Instagram page. Thus, the show had not been in production for very long when the shooting occurred.
In addition, the news comes amidst conversations about gun ownership and use in the U.S. in recent weeks. No arrests have yet been made, but the investigation is continuing.
