Man arrested in 2 Harlem murders allegedly shot at police in 2021
HARLEM - The NYPD has arrested a man in connection with two separate murders over the Easter weekend in Harlem.
According to police, Messiah Nantwi, 21, is charged with two counts of murder, along with one count of criminal possession of a weapon.
What we know about the suspect
Nantwi has a rap sheet dating back to February 2021 when he was arrested for allegedly shooting at three police officers, authorities said.
Prosecutors allege Nantwi shot at a NYPD sergeant and two officers who tried to stop him from spraying graffiti on a building in the South Bronx.
The officers, who were not injured, returned fire 31 times, authorities said. Nantwi was taken to the hospital for critical injuries. His case is still awaiting trial.
The Bronx District Attorney's Office said his bail for attempted murder charges was originally set at $500,000. The judge then reduced it to $300,000, but Nantwi only had to pay 10% – amounting to $30,000.
Harlem murders
Nantwi is allegedly the gunman seen in a shocking video shooting another man in the head Sunday evening inside a smoke shop at 125th Street and Malcolm X Boulevard.
In the video, police say Nantwi can be seen pulling out a gun and shooting the victim, Brandon Brunson, 36, in the head, before shooting him in the head again while he is lying on the ground.
A still from a surveillance video allegedly showing Messiah Nantwi shooting and killing Brandon Brunson.
Nantwi was also wanted in connection to an earlier incident Saturday around 4:40 p.m. when police said Jaylen Duncan, 19, was shot in the head near Madison Avenue and E. 132nd St. He was taken to Harlem Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The arrest for the two murders came amid a violent weekend, where five murders in total took place in the span of less than 42 hours across three New York City boroughs.
Sunday afternoon (Coney Island)
- Around 2:12 p.m., police said Kristian Vargas, 23, of Brooklyn, was stabbed in the torso at the intersection of West 23 Street and Mermaid Avenue in Coney Island.
- Vargas was transported to NYU Langone Hospital Brooklyn, where he was pronounced dead.
Coney Island fatal stabbing. (Citizen App)
Saturday afternoon (Brooklyn)
- Police said Ramon Cintron, 83, was found stabbed to death around 2:20 p.m. inside an apartment in Wyckoff Garden, a NYCHA complex in Boerum Hill.
- Police shared a poster of a man identified as Joevani Vale, who they believe may be connected to the attack.
"He’s a great person," Victor Santiago, the manager of a nearby grocery store where he bought scratch-off tickets, said of Cintron. "I consider him like a grandfather."
Saturday morning (Queens)
- Police found Jevaughn Jeminson, 23, of Florida, shot multiple times in the torso just after 2 a.m. near Selover Road and Merrick Boulevard in Saint Albans.
- He was transported to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Police have not made any arrests in the three other murders.