A 43-year-old man was charged Friday with shooting into an MTA bus in Queens, wounding two passengers, prosecutors said.
Melvin Adams, of The Bronx, faces a slew of assault and weapons charges, as well as reckless endangerment in the first degree, according to the Queens District Attorney’s Office.
Prosecutors said Adams lost it after a staredown with a stranger on 148th Street and Jamaica Avenue in Jamaica around 9 a.m. Thursday.
The two exchanged words, and Adams then allegedly pulled a black pistol out of a backpack and aimed it at the man, unloading three errant shots.
At least one bullet shattered the front windshield of the Q8 bus, leaving two innocent bystanders with gunshot wounds, authorities said.
A 66-year-old passenger was hit in the shoulder, and a 20-year-old was left with a broken bone in his hand from a bullet fragment, prosecutors said. Both were expected to recover.
Melvin Adams is led out of the 103rd Pct. in Queens, on Thursday, August 5, 2021 after being charged for allegedly shooting at an MTA bus. Robert Mecea
A victim is placed in an ambulance after the shooter opened fire on a Q8 bus on Aug. 5, 2021. APAn officer on the scene immediately arrested the suspect, and recovered the gun and 26 rounds of ammunition, according to prosecutors.
“We can’t live in a world where a petty dispute on the street between strangers end up with innocent people getting shot at on a City bus,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement.
Deputy Chief Jerry O’Sulliva gave a press conference about the suspect in the MTA Bus shooting in Queens, NY. BRIGITTE STELZER“The alleged, brazen conduct of the defendant is another example of why my office has made such a high priority of getting guns off the street.”
Adams was held on $100,000 bail following his arraignment in Queens Criminal Court Friday morning. He faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted.
His next court date is set for Tuesday.
An NYPD officer stands on site where a shooting on an MTA bus took place in Jamaica, Queens. BRIGITTE STELZER