A Venezuelan migrant was shot dead and two others wounded in a drive-by shooting near a Randall’s Island shelter early Monday morning — apparent payback for an earlier robbery, police said.
The victims were part of a crowd of about 50 people boozing it up and celebrating the re-election of controversial Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro around 3:30 am. when the shots rang out, NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell said at a briefing Monday.
“Right now the motive that we are going with, the person who did the shooting was a victim of an unreported gunpoint robbery,” Chell said. “That happened earlier in the evening. I don’t know the exact time.”
He said the shooter walked up to the crowd at Lot 71, which is about a quarter mile from the shelter, and opened fire from about 100 feet away before fleeing on a moped.
One of the victims, a 44-year-old woman, was killed after being hit in the face and back by the gunmen, police said.
The others — a 32-year-old man shot in the throat and a 31-year-old woman hit in the back — were taken to Harlem Hospital and were listed in stable condition, police said.
Officials investigate an area where blood is seen. Robert Mecea
Migrants are seen at parking field 71 on Randall’s Island in New York where the shooting occurred. Robert Mecea
Police gather at the scene of the fatal shooting. Robert Mecea
Police and EMS at parking field 71 on Randall’s Island in New York where people were shot. Robert MeceaChell said police believe both women were living at the shelter.
No arrests had been made early Monday. The NYPD reportedly is looking for at least two suspects, one of whom is believed to have fled on a moped with New Mexico license plates, ABC7 reported.
The migrant tent shelter at the Manhattan site has been the subject of controversy in the past, including outbursts of violence.
Last month a brawl broke out between feuding migrant groups at the site, leading to several arrests.
In April, five men were charged with assault for their part in a rowdy fight that left one asylum seeker suffering a stab wound and four intervening security guards injured.
In January, a migrant housed at the facility was stabbed to death in a dispute over a woman, leading to three arrests, police said.
The tent city was erected to accommodate the thousands of migrants flocking into the Big Apple from the US border with Mexico, stretching the city’s shelter capacity to the breaking point.
Meanwhile, the NYPD has also launched another crackdown on mopeds and scooters used by migrants — in some cases for crime.
“In today’s operation we confiscated 19 mopeds,” Deputy Commissioner of Operations Kaz Daughtry told reporters.
“Out of the 19 mopeds, one of them was stolen. One dirt bike, one motorcycle which was stolen and a total of 15 vehicles that were unregistered from this particular area,” Daughtry said.
