The suspect in the devastating weekend shooting of a Manhattan-bound New York City train was charged with second-degree murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon following his arrest on Tuesday, 24 May, Reuters reported.
According to Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell, Andrew Abdullah (25) was arrested at his lawyer’s office for killing Brooklyn resident Daniel Enriquez (48), who was shot in the chest during his commute on Manhattan’s Q Train on Sunday morning.
Addressing a press conference, Sewell added that the city’s law enforcement were able to locate Abdullah after police canvassing, social media outreach, and engaging with the community.
An employee at investment bank Goldman Sachs, Enriquez was shot as he rode a train from Brooklyn to lower Manhattan, and lost his life at the Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan, the report said.
'Poster Child' for Violent Perpetrators
Abdullah’s description was that of a gang member with a criminal past dating back to 2016, with arrests for robbery, felony assault, attempted murder, and a gun charge, the report added.
NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig said that Abdullah was sentenced for 30-months in May 2017 for attempted murder, and was released from prison in June 2019, with parole being lifted in June 2021.
A 9-millimeter shell casing fired from a gun made by Ruger was found at the scene, Essig said. He further revealed that the gun was stolen from the Hamptons in Virginia in 2019, and was randomly handed to a homeless man later.
Mayor Eric Adams, suggesting that the state’s criminal justice system was partly to blame in the killing, called Abdullah the “poster child” for violent perpetrators.
Adams further revealed that he negotiated with Bishop Lamor Whitehead of the Leaders of Tomorrow International Church to bring Abdullah in, after the latter surfaced at a legal aid clinic in the lower Manhattan’s Tribeca neighbourhood, reported The Daily Mail.
While Mayor Adams said his heart remains with Enriquez’s family, the attack on Sunday further adds pressure on the former police captain who focussed on public safety and crime during his campaign for mayor last year.
This attack adds to violence seen by the subway system, which on 12 April saw its most violent attack, when a man set off a smoke bomb and opened fire inside a subway car, injuring 23 people, including 10 hit by gunfire.
The police arrested Frank James (62) a day after the shooting, who was indicted on charges of terrorism amongst others earlier this month.
(With inputs from Reuters and The Daily Mail)
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