New York City shooting spree

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A gunman riding a scooter opened fire in multiple New York City neighbors, seemingly at random, killing one man and injuring three others, police said.

A male suspect was taken into custody by police in Queens around 1 p.m., authorities said, adding that they had recovered a 9mm handgun with an extended clip.

The shooting spree began at Ashford Street and Arlington Avenue around 11 a.m. in Cypress Hills. A 21-year-old man was walking when he was shot once in the shoulder. He was transported to Brookdale Hospital with serious, non-life-threatening injures, police said.

"Detectives from the 75th precinct responded to the scene with patrol. As they began to process the scene, they came across video that shows a male Hispanic approach our victim from behind on a scooter, raises his hands one time and fires one time striking our victim," NYPD Assistant Chief Joseph Kenny said at an afternoon press conference.

Then, around 11:30 a.m., an 86-year-old man was walking on Jamaica Avenue near 108th Street when he was shot multiple times in the back. He was transported to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center and pronounced dead, police said.

Another round of shots was fired just nearby, but missed a handful of people standing outside, Kenny explained.

"Numerous witnesses described the male on a scooter randomly firing at a group of people that was standing on the corner of 108th St and Jamaica Avenue," the assistant chief said.

Around 11:35 a.m., the suspect shot a 44-year-old man in the face at 126th Street and Hillside Avenue on the Kew Gardens-Richmond Hill border. The bullet struck the man in his cheek, leaving him in critical condition, Kenny said.

Minutes later, the suspect shot a 63-year-old man in the shoulder at 134th Street and Jamaica Avenue. He was transported to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center with serious, non-life threatening injuries.

The suspect's apprehension was thanks in part to the NYPD's domain awareness system which sent an alert with the suspect's description to every cop across the city. The system requires officers to acknowledge the alert in order for their phone to stop sounding. Two officers who saw the alert, recognized the suspect and arrested him on the corner of Sutphin Boulevard and 94th Avenue in Queens.

At the media briefing, police said the suspect was a 25-year-old with at least one prior arrest in the city.

What prompted the suspect's daytime rampage across multiple boroughs is not yet clear. NYPD officials said footage obtained in the hours immediately following the shooting appear to show "randomly shooting."

"At this time, we don't know the motive. It seems that his acts were random. If you look at the demographics and pedigree of the victims, they're all different at this time," Kenny said.

A Brooklyn man accused of killing an 86-year-old and injuring three other men in a series of shootings while riding a scooter in New York City is charged with murder and attempted murder, police said Sunday.

The motive of the alleged gunman, identified Sunday as 25-year-old Thomas Abreu, was unknown, police said.

Police arrested Abreu without incident Saturday. The New York Police Department pulled an image of the gunman from video and sent it to officers, who spotted him a couple hours after the first shooting, police said.

Police confiscated a scooter and a 9 mm handgun with an extended magazine. Abreu was charged with murder, two counts of attempted murder and six counts of criminal possession of a weapon.

The 25-year-old man police believe is behind a deadly shooting spree in Brooklyn and Queens was arraigned on charges of murder, attempted murder and criminal possession of a weapon.

Thomas Abreu was arraigned Monday via closed circuit TV from his bed at a Queens hospital, where he was held without bail.

Prosecutors said Abreu made paranoid statements following his arrest.

"The Russians are after me, the Chinese are after me, the Italians are after me, Africa is after me," he told detectives.

You are all wearing earpieces," he complained to them

Abreu admitted he rode around Brooklyn and Queens armed a 9mm weapon, but said it wasn't his.

"I was jumped before and someone dropped a bag and when I looked there was a gun and I took it and I kept it since," he claimed.

In a rambling statement delivered through a Spanish interpreter at the beginning of the hearing, Abreu said:

"I think they want to kill me or murder. Everybody says that I'm innocent. That's the best problem that there is. I need my innocence first of all. I'm told that I'm innocent. It's the truth. I was not free but everybody tells me I'm innocent."

"Mr. Abreu, are you coherent enough to follow these proceedings today? You keep on closing your eyes. Are you alert enough to go forward?" Judge Scott Dunn asked at one point.

Abreu said he was.

An investigation is underway after four people were shot, including two young children, at a park in the Kingsbridge section of the Bronx on Tuesday, according to police.

The shooting took place at St. James Park near 193rd Street and Morris Avenue around 5:45 p.m.

Police say two suspects riding an illegal scooter pulled up to the park and fired shots at a crowd.

Four people were injured, including two brothers, a 6-year-old and a 3-year-old, who were both shot in the leg. They were taken to St. Barnabas Hospital and are expected to survive.

A 25-year-old man was shot in the back and a 23-year-old man was shot multiple times to his body. Both of the victims were also taken to St. Barnabas Hospital and are expected to survive.

Authorities say the suspects on the scooter fled the scene down 193rd Street. They were seen wearing all black with black masks.

A mother was on her way to a supermarket with her two young boys when a gunman opened fire into a crowd outside a park in the Bronx, injuring her sons and two other people Tuesday evening.

The two boys, ages 3 and 6, were both wounded in the leg by a bullet outside St. James Park near East 193rd Street and Morris Avenue around 5:50 p.m., according to the NYPD. The boys’ mother, who is also pregnant with her fourth child, suffered a bruise on her leg that she believes was caused by a bullet.

The 3-year-old boy is now home recovering. His 6-year-old brother is still in the hospital and will undergo a second surgery later this week, the mother told PIX11 News. The mother said she was shaken and in shock after the shooting.

A 25-year-old man and a 23-year-old man were also injured in the shooting. Investigators believe one of the men was the intended target, but the motive remains unclear, sources said.