NYPD: Livery car driver from Long Island killed in Bushwick

A livery cabdriver from Long Island was fatally shot in the right side of his face early Monday in Brooklyn, and the NYPD said he may have been targeted and killed by a fare.

Carlos Nunez, 37, of Valley Stream, was a driver for the Natasha Car Service in Brooklyn, said Fernando Mateo, president of the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers.

"This is a very, very dangerous job and very few taxi drivers get away with not being robbed or assaulted, or murdered, in their career," he said.

At a news conference Monday, NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly said someone called and asked for the cab -- No. 35 -- that Nunez was driving and may have targeted him. "It appears certainly possible that the person who called for the cab knew who would be driving the cab," Kelly said.

Mateo said his group was "looking into" Nunez's death.

"I will say that sometimes drivers, trying to pick up extra income, pick up illegal street hails," he said.

Officers responded to a 12:27 a.m. report of a traffic crash and found Nunez at the wheel of a 2004 Toyota Sienna. The minivan had struck five parked, unoccupied vehicles before coming to a stop near Decatur Street and Irving Avenue in Brooklyn's Bushwick section.

An ambulance took Nunez to The Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead after doctors found the gunshot wound to his face, the NYPD said.

A law-enforcement source said Nunez was shot in the right side of his face.

No arrests were reported by Monday evening.

A law-enforcement official said Nunez had a minor arrest record for assault and drug possession.

Family members could not be reached for comment.