Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch and police officials investigate the scene where a 7-month-old baby was shot dead in Brooklyn on April 1, 2026.
Photo by Dean Moses
The gunman accused of fatally shooting 7-month-old Kaori Patterson-Moore with a stray bullet on Wednesday afternoon has been charged with murder, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Thursday.
Amari Greene, 21, was booked on Thursday on charges of murder and two counts of attempted murder. He has no criminal arrest history in New York, cops said.
Police say Greene, the alleged trigger-puller, is still recovering in Brooklyn hospital after he was sent hurtling from the getaway moped upon after colliding with an oncoming vehicle on the corner of Manhattan Avenue and Seigel Street, about two blocks west of the shooting scene.
“The rear passenger lands so hard on the pavement that he loses both of his shoes, which are later recovered by police,” Tisch said on Wednesday.
Kaori Patterson-Moore, just 7 months old, was shot and killed by a stray bullet fired in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn, on April 1, 2026.Obtained by amNewYork
Police say Greene allegedly fired the shot at the corner of Humboldt and Moore Streets in East Village just after 1:20 p.m. on April 1 that struck Patterson-Moore in the head as the little girl was being rolled in a stroller by her mother. Frantic efforts to save the infant’s life were for naught; Patterson-Moore died a short time later at Woodhull Hospital.
“I was in the hospital when the father brought the baby in,” one woman told amNewYork. “The dad brought the baby in. The dad was screaming, ‘Save my baby!’ And the mother was screaming at the top of her lungs.”
The shooting appears to be gang-related, though neither Patterson-Moore nor her mother was believed to have been intentionally targeted, sources familiar with the case said. NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said that Greene is a known gang associate affiliated with the Marcy Houses, which has an ongoing feud with rivals at another NYCHA complex.
“At this point, right now, there is a gang in the Bushwick Houses called MOE, and we are looking to see the possible beef between the Marcy Houses and the Bushwick Houses,” Kenny said.
Police officers were stationed at the corner of Humboldt and Moore Streets, keeping watch over the crime scene.Photo by Dean Moses
Tisch said that NYPD detectives have identified the driver of the scooter, who currently remains at large. Authorities say they are not publicly disclosing that information as the manhunt unfolds.
The baby’s grandmother, who declined to be identified, told amNewYork on Thursday that Patterson-Moore was only just starting to take her first steps.
“This doesn’t define her. Everybody loves her. She was just starting to call me mom. She was just starting to take her first steps. She was close with all her family and nephews and uncles,” the grandmother said.