Three people were shot dead in separate incidents in Queens and Brooklyn with two others wounded in one of the same shootings overnight, police said. Inclement weather didn’t seem to stop the gunfire overnight, though far fewer ShotSpotter activations were reported citywide.
In the most recent shooting, three people were shot at 1:52 a.m. Wednesday morning in front of 2718 West 16th St., an auto body shop in Coney Island.
Officers from the 60th Precinct say they responded to a 911 call for the shooting and found three victims on the ground, scattered in an area under street reconstruction.
A 25-year-old man was shot to the chest, a 37-year-old was hit in the buttocks and right ankle, and a 26-year-old man was shot in the right forearm. All three were rushed by EMS to NYU Langone-Brooklyn Hospital where the 25-year-old was dead on arrival. The other men are in stable condition. None of the victims have yet been identified.
There is no description of the assailant as yet, though detectives are investigating with possibly two groups firing shots at each other.
In a separate shooting, a 43-year-old woman was found inside her home at 91-16 34th Ave. in Jackson Heights, Queens with a gunshot wound to the head.
Officers from the 115th Precinct found the woman in apartment C7 after a call to 911 of an unconscious woman. She was pronounced dead at the scene by EMS.
The victim has been identified as Bertha Arriaga, 43, of the same address. No further information on this shooting is available at this time.
According to City Councilman Daniel Dromm, Arriaga was hit by a stray bullet.
“Bertha Arriaga was killed by a stray bullet inside of her own home. She died simply because she was standing by her window at the worst possible time,” Dromm said in a statement Wednesday. “Even more tragic is the fact that her young son found her dead. I call upon the NYPD to bring the perpetrator to justice and will do whatever is in my power to assist them. We will not allow Jackson Heights to be consumed by gun violence. My heart goes out to the Arriaga family as they grieve. No one should ever have to experience a loss such as this.”
The police are asking for the public’s assistance in identifying the individuals depicted in a video in connection to the below listed homicide that occurred within the confines of the 115 Precinct.
In the final shooting of the night, police from the 75th Precinct responded to a call of a man shot at 10:16 p.m. in front of 146 Highland Blvd. in Cypress Hills, Brooklyn. Police found the victim with a gunshot wound to the head and left shoulder.
EMS rushed the victim to Brookdale Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival. He has been identified as Roderick Smith, 36, of 1310 Pennsylvania Avenue in East New York, Brooklyn.
Arrest in Brooklyn murder
Detectives from the 67th Precinct arrested a 34-year-old woman in connection with the August 15 murder of a 32-year-old man shot in East Flatbush.
Police arrested Charlene Morris, 34, 114-55 200 Street in Queens for the shooting death of Jamel Copeland, 32, of Avenue D in East Flatbush.
Police say that on the morning of August 15, they found Copeland shot once to the torso at the corner of Avenue D and East 39th Street. The victim later died at Kings County Hospital.
Morris will be charged with the murder and possession of a firearm.
