Early Morning Murder of Taxi Driver in Downtown New Rochelle Parking Lot

NEW ROCHELLE, NY — Andres Valenzuela, age 62, a New Rochelle man born in Mexico, was shot and killed overnight in a parking lot in New Rochelle. This story was reported as it developed since early Thursday morning and has since been updated to place the official police statement first and the developing news reporting below.

UPDATE 9:57 AM: NRPD STATEMENT

On October 14th, 2021, at about 2:50 a.m., New Rochelle Police, while on patrol, observed a man down on the ground in the parking lot of Juliano’s Caterers located at 700 Main Street. Officers went to assist and found a 62-year-old male, New Rochelle resident, with 2 apparent gun shot wounds. He was treated and transported to a local hospital (Montefiore New Rochelle) where he was pronounced dead. This is an open investigation and Detectives are currently working on the case. The name of the victim is being withheld at this time. Anyone with information about this incident can contact the New Rochelle Police Department at 914-654-2300. Further information will be released when available.

WCBS-TV: A police officer on patrol found Valenzuela had “two, what appeared to be gunshot wounds that were obvious. He immediately started rendering aid, calling for help. They used an automatic external defibrillator,” New Rochelle Police Capt. Collins Coyne told CBS2’s Tony Aiello.

The victim is an off-duty cab driver for Express City Taxi who had just completed a six-hour shift.

WABC-TV: A colleague at the taxi service said the victim ended his shift at 2:40 a.m., and his car was still running at the scene hours later. The taxi cab company parks their cars along the wall adjacent to the catering hall.

Valenzuela is survived by his wife and three children.

FROM EARLY THIS MORNING AS STORY DEVELOPED

NEW ROCHELLE, NY — New Rochelle police are on scene at Juliano’s Restaurant located at 700 Main Street for what one witness said was a “serious incident” according to police.

There are unconfirmed reports of a homicide.

UPDATE 9:09 AM: NRPD OFFICIAL —Police confirm serious incident is a homicide.

Police have the building and entrances to the parking lot sealed off with yellow tape. Police cars and a motorcycle are blocking access to the parking lot.

New Rochelle School District operates a cooking program for students at Juliano’s. Parents told not to bring their children to that location today.

UPDATE: The City School District of New Rochelle issued a statement.

The City School District of New Rochelle was alerted early this morning about police activity near Juliano’s restaurant. Students who ordinarily attend a culinary arts program at Juliano’s were instead taken to House 4 at New Rochelle High School, which has remained open while other portions of the school undergo flooding repairs. Parents were alerted about the destination change. All students and staff are safe and were never in any danger, or near the scene.

Forensics van on scene with forensics equipment set up in the parking lot. Medical debris in the lot, appears to be from EMS response. 5-6 yellow markers on in the parking lot possibly indicating shell casings.

We shared our video of the scene with WCBS-TV for this report.