81-year-old Maria Cartagena of Forest Hills tried to kill Grammy award winning Eddie Palmieri's 73-year-old wife Tuesday night in their building. Cartagena allegedly pulled a .38-caliber revolver from her fanny pack and told Iraida Palmieri, "Move over or I'm gonna kill ya!" She then fired once, grazing Palmieri's head.
According to the Daily News, the two had an ongoing feud that could have been fueled by jealousy, noise complaints and ethnic tensions (the Cartagenas are Dominican and the Palmieris Puerto Rican). Cartagena believed her victim made a pass at her 60-year old husband, Rafael, but he claims it was all about noise, saying, "These people were banging on the floor at all hours. My wife was on the brink of a nervous breakdown." Allegedly both families had been calling 311 to file noise complaints against each other.
Mr. Cartagena defends his wife further, saying the Palmieris told them "if we didn't move out, they were going to send us to the Dominican in boxes, meaning they were going to kill us. My wife felt threatened. That's why she did what she did." She told detectives that she only got the gun after Palmieri—armed with scissors—wouldn't leave her hallway.
Palmieri has been released from the hospital, while her assailant is being held on $25,000 bail. She is charged with attempted murder and assault.
