A Brooklyn cabbie who immigrated to the U.S. to support his family back in Pakistan has been left partially paralyzed after being shot in the neck by a fare during an attempted carjacking of his brand-new SUV, the Daily News has learned.
Danish Sarwar, 21, was shot by a passenger he picked up in front of a daycare on Parkside Ave. near Bedford Ave. in Prospect Lefferts Gardens about 4:15 a.m. July 11, cops said. Sarwar was behind the wheel of a 2026 Toyota RAV4 he’d purchased just days earlier.
“My brother worked seven days a week,” said Hamza Sarwar, 30. “He’s a very good person. We both support our family. We take care of our mother, dad and two sisters back in Pakistan. He’s been here about three years and all he does is work.”
Danish, who was rushed into emergency surgery at Kings County Hospital, was unconscious in critical condition for over a week. He awoke on Wednesday, unable to move his left arm or fingers, Hamza said.
“He opened his eyes for the first time and started to speak,” the brother said. “God has given him a second life.”
But before he could speak, doctors had to install a microphone into the victim’s mangled throat.
“We can only hope for the best,” the brother said. “They just put a mic in his throat. He has a spinal cord problem. He can’t eat and he has a problem with his heart.”
Speaking to his brother, the victim relayed the harrowing details of his encounter with the gun-toting fare.
The crook, according to the victim’s brother, had contracted Danish through a car service, only to draw a firearm from the backseat of the SUV and demand Danish’s valuables.
“The person came to his car and asked him for the money. Then he asked him for his phone. My brother gave him the money and the phone,” said Hamza. “Then he wanted the car.”
“My brother was scared,” Hamza added. “He told (the gunman), ‘I’m going to find the keys.’ He heard him rack the gun,” the brother said. “My brother got out of the car to give him the keys but he still shot him in his neck.”
As Danish fell clutching his neck, the gunman exited the cab and ran off, cops said. He has not been caught.
The NYPD released images Tuesday of the suspect, who was wearing a hoodie and COVID mask, and asked the public’s help identifying him and tracking him down.
The shooter nabbed about $500 and the victim’s iPhone 17 Pro, the brother said.
“That’s a lot of money for a working man,” Hamza said. “We want justice for my brother.”
The city’s Taxi & Limousine Commission confirmed that Danish is on their “active driver list.” The new Toyota RAV4, however, didn’t have TLC plates, according to the commission.
“The details of this incident are still under investigation, but any violence against TLC drivers is intolerable and heartbreaking,” Taxi & Limousine Commissioner Midori Valdivia said Wednesday. “Our city’s drivers are hardworking people who deserve respect and dignity.”
Shortly after waking in the hospital, the victim asked about his prognosis, inquiring “about his body and what he could still do,” according to Hamza.
Danish faces a long road to recovery before he can return to his Sheepshead Bay home.
“I’m just grateful my brother is stable,” Hamza said. “I can’t explain what my brother has been through. I can’t explain what my family has been through over the last week.”
Anyone with information on the suspect is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.
With Evan Simko-Bednarski