A grieving widow sobbed Monday night at the scene where her husband was killed with an arrow in an apparently random attack on a New Jersey sidewalk days earlier, as newly released surveillance of the deadly strike stunned the community.
The Incident
Pablo Criollo, 45, was in Kearny Saturday night, walking home for dinner, his wife says, when an arrow pierced his back on Kearney Avenue.
Chilling video obtained by NBC New York shows the moment he reaches for his back – the sound of a bow snap just before – and stumbles down the sidewalk before leaning on a staircase railing and collapsing.
Criollo’s widow, Paula Amez, remembered him, through her tears, at a candlelight vigil.
She said she was devastated by the loss.
“Every morning, my daughter is asking me about her father, what time he will come home,” Amez said in Spanish.
Authorities charged a New Jersey man Monday in connection with the chaotic series of events, which started with the arrow shooting and triggered an hours-long shelter-in-place and a police standoff in Kearny.
Oscar Feijoo is accused of murder and aggravated arson.
He is also charged with criminal weapons possession, and prosecutors say additional charges are expected.
“The man was looking to kill someone,” one of Criollo’s friends said.
“Why did he have to kill my friend?”
Authorities say Feijoo surrendered to them, “armed with knives,” after the standoff Sunday afternoon, coming out of the Kearny Avenue home where he had holed up overnight, only after first setting it ablaze.
Prosecutors haven’t shared a potential motive for the killing.
Neighbors say he appeared unstable.
“He looked like a devil,” neighbor Cristina Pacheco said.
“The way he was looking is like a devil person.”
It’s unclear if Feijoo knew the victim prior to the attack.
The incident appeared random, and the video captured the sound of a bow snap just before the arrow struck.
The incident has left the community in shock, with residents recalling the suddenness of the attack and the subsequent hours of uncertainty.
The community has rallied around the widow and her daughter, holding vigils and offering support in the wake of the tragedy.
Key Takeaways
- The arrow attack left Pablo Criollo dead on Kearny Avenue.
- Oscar Feijoo faces murder, arson, weapons, and additional charges.
- The incident sparked a shelter-in-place, standoff, and arson of a local home.
The community remains on edge, mourning the loss of a local resident and grappling with the unsettling reality of an apparently random act of violence.
