NYC scooter-riding suspect charged in series of Brooklyn, Queens shootings
Queens scooter shooting suspect charged
Thomas Abreu, the man accused of going on a weekend shooting spree on a scooter in Queens, appeared in front of a judge on Monday. Meanwhile, hundreds of people gathered to pay their respects to Hamoud Saeidi, the 86-year-old man shot and killed by the gunman.
NEW YORK CITY - A Brooklyn man accused of killing an 86-year-old and injuring three other men in a series of shootings while riding a scooter has been charged with murder and attempted murder, the NYPD said.
In all, six apparently random shootings occurred in Brooklyn and Queens on Saturday, according to police.
Police arrested the alleged gunman, identified as Thomas Abreu, 25, without incident Saturday.
Police 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 also 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.
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The motive for the shootings was unknown, police said.
Timeline of Saturday's shootings
According to police, in all, six apparently random shootings occurred Saturday in Brooklyn and Queens.
The shootings began around 11:10 a.m. when the gunman shot a 21-year-old man in the shoulder in Brooklyn. The man was brought to a hospital and was expected to survive, police said.
Soon after, Abreu allegedly shot Hamoo Saeidi, 86, of Queens, in the Richmond Hill section. Saeidi later died at a hospital.
Shortly afterward in Queens, witnesses reported a man on a scooter firing randomly into a group of people, although nobody was hurt.
Eight minutes later, a 44-year-old man was shot in the face. He was in critical condition at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center.
About a minute later, a 63-year-old man was shot in the torso. He was in stable condition at a hospital.
Police reported a sixth related shooting Sunday at an intersection in Queens. A 40-year-old man fired upon was unhurt.
Associated Press wire services helped contribute to this report.