New York City’s first reported homicide of the year was the fatal shooting of a Bronx Uber driver on New Year’s Day, according to police, who are asking the public to help find a man they have identified as a suspect. NYPD officials said 24-year-old Ehinel Troncoso is wanted in connection with 55-year-old Issa Mbolo-Isac’s death as the driver finished up a long New Year’s Eve shift behind the wheel. The shooting took place around 7:00am on Jan. 1 near Morris Avenue and the Cross Bronx Expressway in Mount Hope, authorities said.
(View an image of the alleged assailant at: https://hoodline.com/2026/01/nypd-seeks-suspect-ehinel-troncoso-in-new-year-s-day-murder-of-uber-driver-issa-mbolo-isac-in-mount-hope/.)
Mbolo-Isac had just spoken to his brother by phone and was on his way to a mosque when two men approached his vehicle and tried to force him out, according to Fernando Mateo, chair of the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers. When Mbolo-Isac tried to drive away, they shot at the car, striking him in the head. He died at the scene, according to the NYPD
The federation offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the suspects’ arrests. Police had not taken anyone into custody in the case, as of late-January.
Friends say Mbolo-Isac was never afraid to work overnight shifts and maintained a very high rating on the Uber app. News of his death shook his family in West Africa, where his wife and three children live. Mbolo-Isac’s death followed a year of record-low shootings and a 20% decrease in homicides across NYC, police say.
The NYPD asks anyone with information about Mbolo-Isac’s killing to call its Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or, for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). People can also submit their tips on the Crime Stoppers website.
