A 7-month-old baby girl was killed when she was hit by a stray bullet during a drive-by shooting in New York, according to police.
The New York Police Department (NYPD) on Friday said Amuri Greene, 21, of Brooklyn, is facing the following charges in connection to the case:
Three counts of murder Attempted murderFive counts of criminal possession of a weapon Two counts of attempted criminal possession of a weapon Two counts of assault
Greene, who is the suspected shooter, pleaded not guilty to the charges during his arraignment on Friday night. He was held without bail.
Authorities later identified a second suspect as Matthew Rodriguez, 18. Rodriguez was arrested in Pennsylvania by NYPD detectives working with U.S. Marshals, the department said.
Police said the charges against Greene stem from a shooting on Wednesday afternoon in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. Authorities said two suspects were riding on a moped when it approached the area, with Greene, who was allegedly on the back of the vehicle, opening fire and hitting the baby while she sat in her stroller.
The child, identified as Kaori Patterson-Moore, was taken to NYC Health and Hospitals/Woodhull, where she was pronounced dead, police said. Authorities said the suspects fled the scene after the shooting.
Kaori’s mother, Lianna Charles-Moore, told the New York Post that after hearing what she initially believed were fireworks, she was comforting her frightened 2-year-old son — who had been grazed by a bullet — when she looked to her left and saw her baby daughter bleeding.
The baby had been shot in the head.
“My daughter was innocent. She didn’t deserve that. We were just going outside to go get her a few things, and my son a few things. My son got impacted with everything that happened, yeah, so it was just too much, because they could have killed my son and my daughter,” Charles-Moore told the media outlet.
Greene told police he was aiming for another person in the crowd, according to a court complaint.
Authorities haven’t yet released court papers that detail Rodriguez’s alleged role. But they haven’t indicated they were looking for anyone other than the gunman — alleged to have been Greene — and the moped driver.
Police didn’t immediately have information on how the men may know each other or where Rodriguez lives; no working telephone number for him could immediately be found. Police charges against him were pending.
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EDITOR’S NOTE: The Associated Press contributed to this report.