Body found in shopping cart set on fire in Yonkers, police say

YONKERS, N.Y. (PIX11) — An investigation led by the Yonkers Police Department is underway after a gruesome discovery. A body was found in a shopping cart after it was set on fire.

The body was found by a Westchester County Public Safety police officer and the Mount Vernon Fire Department, which came here to extinguish a fire, not knowing it was this body. It is not clear if the victim was killed here or elsewhere.

“It is a shock for the community. Hopefully, they will find out what is going on,” said Yonkers resident Darryll Bush.

“It is shocking. I don’t believe it, and when they just told me, I was like, ‘Are you kidding me? A body? ' That’s unheard of. It is a very quiet neighborhood,” added Bush.

The body was found around 2 a.m. near the Oak Street bridge over the Bronx River Parkway. Angel Flores said he walks through this same location almost daily while on his way to work.

“There were police officers blocking the traffic. Why do you do that? Somebody living why you had to end their life like that? Come on!” said Flores.

Investigators were gathering evidence all morning and afternoon.

According to Yonkers police, the body “had been placed in a shopping cart and apparently set on fire at that location.” Adding that the body was found on the sidewalk.

"This is at the border of a couple of jurisdictions, so we want to make sure we're doing everything right and collecting all the evidence possible,” said Detective Frank Didomizio.

On Monday night, the Yonkers police said they would be handing the investigation over to the NYPD.

Sources told PIX11 News that evidence led the investigation to the Bronx.

The official information from the medical examiner is pending, including the gender of the victim and the cause of death.