Deadly shooting near Randall's Island migrant shelter may have been retaliation, NYC police say
NEW YORK -- A deadly shooting near a migrant shelter in New York City early Monday morning may have been retaliation for another crime, police said.
A gunman fatally shot one person and injured two others near the shelter on Randall's Island.
At a late-afternoon press conference, police said they were still looking for the shooter.
Shooter may have been seeking revenge
The NYPD says at around 3 a.m. a male shooter fired into a crowd that was gathered for the presidential election in Venezuela. A 44-year-old woman was shot twice and killed, police said. The injured victims, a 31-year-old man and a 32-year-old woman, were in stable condition at the hospital, police said.
According to investigators, the shooting may have been retaliation for an earlier robbery.
"Right now, the motive that we are going with that the person who did the shooting was the victim of an unreported gunpoint robbery," NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell said. "That happened earlier that evening, don't know the exact time. So that's the motive. That's who got shot. If anyone has any information in regards to this shooting, please call 1-800-577-TIPS."
Police said the shooter fled on a moped. They do not believe he lives at the Randall's Island shelter.
As the NYPD was investigating the shooting, it also towed dozens of unregistered cars and mopeds, at least one of them stolen, from the shelter lot.
"It's probably our number one quality-of-life complaint throughout the city and how it conflates with certain crimes being committed. So, robberies, shootings, you'll see the getaway car being mopeds or ghost plates," Chell said.
Locals lament the senseless violence
The woman who was killed lived at the shelter, as does the 32-year-old woman who was injured, police said.
A shelter resident told CBS News New York her daughter often saw the woman who died around the tents and feels badly about the loss. She added she warns her daughter not to hang outside at night.
"Being such a peaceful place to have something like that happen, I think it's really unfortunate," said Bethel Sabin of Queens.
"It's not good now. Before, very good because no [violence], no shooting, no nothing in this area," added Betor Vargas of Manhattan.
Anyone with any information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). You can also submit a tip via their website or via DM on Twitter, @NYPDTips. All calls are kept confidential.