A Maryland mom visiting Brooklyn for a Memorial Day family reunion was gunned down on a Coney Island sidewalk, killed by the estranged hubby she tried desperately to escape by by moving to another state, police and family members said.
A manhunt was on Saturday for armed ex-con Gabino Genao, who police said fled after he fired a single shot into Iveliss Alvarado-Genao’s head, as she stood in front of her aunt and uncle’s home on West 36th Street, near the gated community of Seagate.
Witnesses overheard Genao — who has a rap sheet with 15 prior arrests — arguing with his wife at around 11:15 p.m. Friday — just before the gun went off.
When first responders arrived, Alvarado-Genao, 30 — a mother of two daughters ages 5 and 9 and her mother, stricken family members said Saturday as they visited the scene of the shooting, where purple surgical gloves and an oxygen mask lay discarded in the street.
Alvarado-Genao recently moved to Maryland to get away from Genao and lived there with her two daughters and her mother, stricken family members said.
“She chose to walk out and, as many domestic violence professionals have said, the most dangerous time in an abusive relationship is the days, the first couple of weeks” after a woman leaves her abuser, said the victim’s sister, Gisel Mora. The pair had “a very bad relationship,” she continued.
“And, unfortunately, this is a man who had a rap sheet and the system failed us and took our sister,” Mora said.
But Alvarado-Genao — nicknamed “Evy” — returned to the Big Apple to enjoy the long holiday weekend with family, stricken relatives said.
“They came for like a little … reunion, a little family party,” the sister said.
Police sources believe Genao was lying in wait to confront his wife.
Genao arrests includes robbery, assault and harassment, according to law enforcement sources. His record includes a 2007 assault conviction which carried a two-year prison sentence. He also served five months on a parole violation last year.
Genao was last arrested in November on charges he violated an order of protection against a 29-year-old ex-girlfriend, the sources said.
Tips on Genao’s location can be confidentially called in to Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS.
“We’re pleading with the public to help catch this guy and bring him to justice,” said Mora’s husband, Christopher Crespo. “We really need your help.”
Additional reporting by Laura Italiano