Angel Alvarez, Harlem Block Party Shooting Victim, Survived Over 20 Bullets, Family Says

NEW YORK (CBS/AP) Harlem resident Angel Alvarez, who remarkably survived more than 20 bullet wounds when a block party turned violent, says he believes the police tried to kill him.

The 23-year-old, who is one of five victims of the gunfire who spoke out from his hospital bed about the Sunday morning shootout, made that claim to his sister, reports The New York Daily News.

During the mayhem, Alvarez was involved in a struggle over a gun with 21-year-old Luis Soto.

According to witnesses, the dueling pair had a long-standing beef and seemed as if they were trying to settle the score.

Police say it was Alvarez who shot at the cops, who then returned fire.

Alvarez took off with the gun and allegedly fired two more shots in the officers' direction who once again exchanged rounds with the fleeing gunman, says The New York Daily News.

Although it is not clear who shot whom, the gunfire that ensued killed Soto and wounded five other people, including two police officers.

A police official told the newspaper that a searched of both Soto and Alvarez's homes Tuesday turned up multiple bags of pot in Soto's apartment, and $87,000 in cash along with plastic bags with what appeared to be cocaine residue in Alvarez's bedroom.

One of Alvarez's sisters said the money was for the family to move and "buy a house in New Jersey."

According to The New York Daily News, the melee which broke out at 3 a.m. has the NYPD taking a harder look at how it enforces block party curfews.