Brooklyn rideshare driver clinging to life after shooting, robbery attempt

A car service driver shot in the head during an apparent robbery on a Brooklyn street was clinging to life Friday as his worried roommates struggled to give updates to his anguished wife and children in Pakistan.

Naveed Afzal, 52, dreamed of having his family join him in the U.S. and was working hard to try to help achieve that goal, his friends said.

But that dream was potentially shattered Thursday night when Afzal was shot in the head and leg inside his Mercedes van outside an apartment building on Lincoln Place near Underhill Ave. in Prospect Heights, cops said.

“He wants his kids to study here because education is good in America.” Afzal’s friend Mohammad Rundhawa, 62, said inside the Brooklyn apartment he shared with the victim and another roommate, Abdul Majeed, 66

“That’s his dream,” Rundhawa added. “‘I want my children’s good education.'”

Majeed described his friend as devoted to his family.

“Every month, every week, when they need money, they ask and he used to send it,” Majeed said.

Afzal has four children — three daughters and one son. The son is the youngest at 15, and the oldest daughter is 23.

Rundhawa said the victim’s family calls him constantly, looking for updates and a chance to speak with the husband and father.

“I tell them he is in a coma,” Rundhawa said. “His daughter is calling me, calling me.”

Medics rushed Afzal to New York Presbyterian-Brooklyn Methodist Hospital after the 10 p.m. shooting. Officials said he remained in critical condition.

Two men in black hoodies were seen running away from the scene and a firearm was found inside the car, police sources said.

There have been no arrests.

Cops were scouring the area looking for surveillance footage that could help them identify the two suspects.

Afzal’s roommates said there was a camera in the car but it wasn’t working. They explained he could not afford to get it fixed.

A police source said Afzal, who used a rideshare app to pick up passengers, was summoned to an address on Lincoln Place through the app.

The source said investigators believe two men entered the vehicle and tried to rob the victim. His phone was not stolen and although he had money, it was not clear if any was taken.

The source said the robbers left behind a .380-handgun as they fled.

Afzal’s roommates, who are also rideshare drivers, said the industry is fraught with danger. They said the victim had just started picking up passengers and they tried to warn him about what to look out for.

“He’s new,” Majeed said. “That’s why he doesn’t know anything.”

The friend said he was once robbed while he was driving a yellow cab.

“I chased him and said, ‘Give me my fare,’” Majeed recounted.

But he said he ultimately opted to play it safe and give up the chase.

“We need protection,” Majeed said. “We have to do something.”