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Daniel Ortiz reports:

The family of 20-year-old Troy Polonio was in extreme emotional distress when we stopped by their home on Raccoon Street Extension today. They lost him last night to gun violence in the street, gun violence which they maintain he kept away from.

Reporter
"Put words as best as you can; what is exactly the mood in your family's yard right now?"

Voice of: Paula Ramclam, Aunt of the Deceased
"It's not too good right now. The way how we feel, we are still shaken up from my sister's death, and then our nephew now."

Last night, sometime after 8:00, Polonio was on this part of Raccoon Street, across from Central American Boulevard to pick up his infant son. He was standing right here in front of this yard, where his girlfriend also lives. This dent on this vehicle was caused by one of his killer's bullets.

He had his son in his arms, waiting for his girlfriend to show up. That father-son moment was ruined when a gunman approached Polonio and opened fire. Polonio shambled to get his child out of harm's way, but in the process, he was shot once in the back, and the bullet exited through his chest.

Polonio's father told us off-camera that his son usually borrows his pickup truck to go spend time with his son. He didn't do so last night, because the keys weren't working. So instead, Polonio walked to his girlfriend's house.

Polonio's dad says that he arrived in the area minutes after his son was shot, and thought he spotted the fleeing assailant, but police stopped him from pursuing the suspect.

Polonio's murder happened right down the from the Raccoon Street Police Headquarters, which you can see a few hundred feet away. But that didn't deter the brazen killer from gunning him down.

Jules Vasquez, reporter
"Sir, this happened literally a stone's throw away from the second largest police station in the country. It shows that criminals operate with impunity, even around such a large police station. Is this an embarrassment for the police department?"

Sr. Supt. Hilberto Romero - Deputy Head, NCIB
"Well, our patrols are out in particular areas. Again, this person took the opportunity. The patrols were elsewhere, and this is what transpired."

Jules Vasquez
"When we spoke to the father, he said that the gunman escaped on foot. He was not in a vehicle. He was not on a bike. I understand there are limits to how fast police can respond, but a man escaping on foot a few hundred yards down from the police station, one thinks if the police had responded quickly enough, they would have been able to catch him."

Sr. Supt. Hilberto Romero
"Again, the police responded as soon as they got the report, but by then, the person had already fled from the area, and he was not found."

Reporter
"Do you foresee any retaliation?"

Sr. Supt. Hilberto Romero
"Again, investigators are looking to determine what was the motive, to see if there will be any retaliation, or if we need to see if there is any issue with this person and other persons."

So while the cops begin their criminal investigation, Polonio's family is now left to wonder why he was singled out from all the people who were present in the yard last night.

Voice of: Paula Ramclam - Aunt of the Deceased
"He is a hard-working young man, a dedicated father who is dedicated to his son and his baby's mother. He's always working hard. He doesn't go anywhere. He stays home with us, the family in the yard."

"He loves his music. He would be in my mother's house, laugh up with us, smiling with us. He asks us how our day went when we arrive, and so."

His family tells us that they suspect Polonio was innocently killed by that gunman simply because he was looking for someone else, and couldn't find his real target in the yard.