Beloved mechanic hit five times near home; cops hunt for killer

An auto mechanic and dealer was gunned down in a hail of bullets just steps from his Queens home, officials said Saturday — a brazen ambush on a father of two who was biking back from a store.

Dwayne Smith, 37, was pedaling on 229th St. near 144th Ave. in Springfield Gardens at 11:15 p.m. Friday when a gunman pumped five bullets into Smith’s back, stomach and arms, police said.

Medics rushed Smith to Jamaica Hospital, where he died.

Police made no arrests and offered no motive for the attack. On Saturday, police returned to 229th St. to check surveillance cameras and track the victim’s movements prior to the shooting, sources said.

A cousin of Smith, Anna Shorter, was devastated, calling the Jamaica-born Smith “the most caring and loving person.”

“He loved his family and most of all his children,” she said in an email to the Daily News.

Neighbors said Smith had a daughter and son, who live with their mother.

“He was a good man, good person, loved to play music, a very dedicated father,” said a 37-year-old neighbor who asked not to be identified. “He was with his son all the time. … The son wants to be with the father.”

Other neighbors said Smith earned the neighborhood nickname of “Kite” because of his kite-building hobby, one that he developed in his homeland. And his young son, they said, was dubbed “Little Kite.”

Smith’s coworker and business partner, who did not want to be identified, said for the past four years, the pair bought cars from auctions, fixed them up and then advertised and sold them.

“He don’t trouble nobody,” the friend said. “We’re like family. We’re here every day,” adding, “I feel terrible because everybody around here gets along real well.”

Teacher and neighbor Antonia Bailey-Henningham was stunned by the violence.

“We’ve lived her nine years (and) never have seen anything like this,” she told The News.

Another neighbor, a warehouse worker who didn’t want to be identified, said the slaying was especially frightening because “everybody knows each other, you don’t hear about stuff like this.”

“He was an everyday guy, playing music,” especially reggae, that neighbor said, lamenting, “You don’t know people’s lives. It’s crazy.”