NEW YORK – A man who was shot and mortally wounded yesterday on a Chelsea street told officers immediately after the shooting that his assailant, whom he knew, had fled into a building in a nearby housing development after opening fire. The victim told officers who were aiding him that the suspect fled into 427 W. 26th St., one of the buildings in the Chelsea Elliot Houses development.

The street was crammed with police patrol cars and Emergency Service Unit vans, and heavily armored ESU officers conducted a search of the building, but the suspect was not found, and was still at large, police said. The victim was struck in the chest, chin, and knee by gunfire. He was taken to Saint Vincent’s Hospital and pronounced dead at 6:13 p.m.

Police said detectives were looking into the possibility that the shooting was in retaliation for a shooting on the morning of October 10 in the same area.

Bystanders said they heard between six and eight shots ring out – one shot, followed by a delay, and the others in rapid succession.

One witness, who declined to give her name, said she saw people running away. “I heard the shots, and I just saw people running down 26th Street, I guess trying to get away.” Michael, a 65-year-old retiree who lives in the area said he heard the shots while walking his dog, and he saw the police arrive. “I’ve never seen so many cop cars before,” he said.

Deborah Blow, 50, who lives in the area and whose son was taken by police for questioning, said that the neighborhood has recently seen an upturn in drug-related crimes. “This neighborhood is changing for the worst,” she said.