Arrest Made In Shooting Death Of Off-Duty Correction Officer
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A man was under arrest Sunday in the alleged road rage killing of a 27-year-old correction officer in Queens.
There were no words from 30-year-old Gifford Hunter as he was walked out of the 107th Precinct in Flushing on Sunday afternoon, CBS2's Lisa Rozner reported.
Police say on Friday, just before 2 a.m., the Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus maintenance worker fatally shot Jonathan Narain in Richmond Hill as a result of road rage. Narain was on his way to work as a correction officer at Rikers Island.
"We are happy that they caught them. This is a senseless murder, a senseless killing," said Elias Husamudeen, the president of the Correction Officers' Benevolent Association.
Police said Narain was shot in the head at a red light. He was found sitting in a red Honda Accord near 103rd Avenue and 120th Street. Police said video shows Narain and Hunter, who was on a motorcycle, get into a verbal argument before Hunter opens fire and speeds off.
"While on his way to work, Officer Narain stopped at a local store to buy some food. It was after this purchase he has two encounters," NYPD Deputy Chief Joseph Kenny said.
The MTA did not issue a statement in regards to Sunday's arrest but did confirm that Hunter has worked with the agency since July of 2017.
Narain had been a correction officer for almost three years.
"He was well respected by his co-workers and by the officers that he worked with and it's sad, it's sad." Husamudeen said. "We deal with violence inside of here and we have to lose our lives with the violence outside of here."
Narain's family was too distraught to speak Sunday about the arrest, but family was visiting in and out of his home not far from the accident, CBS2's Rozner reported. He was the middle son of three boys and his oldest brother is a firefighter.
"He told me he was going see me on Friday. I don't know what to say no more. I don't have no words, no words," brother Heymant Budhram said. "Jon, I love you, bro. I'm always gonna be there for you,"
Hunter faces charges, including second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon.
