{"id":332776,"date":"2026-08-29T18:24:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-29T18:24:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/332776\/"},"modified":"2026-08-29T18:24:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T18:24:12","slug":"cops-arrest-gunman-accused-of-killing-two-in-bloody-brooklyn-bronx-robbery-spree","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/332776\/","title":{"rendered":"Cops arrest gunman accused of killing two in bloody Brooklyn, Bronx robbery spree"},"content":{"rendered":"

A cold-blooded killer who gunned down two innocent victims just days apart during a deadly robbery spree<\/a> in Brooklyn and the Bronx has been arrested, police said.<\/p>\n

Jesus Acosta, 31, was taken into custody early Saturday, according to cops. Criminal charges were pending.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe NYPD arrested Jesus Acosta this morning,\u201d the NYPD announced on X. \u201cThank you to our cops, detectives, and New Yorkers for their work on locating him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Acosta, who has a lengthy criminal history, is accused of shooting innocent bystander Tayvon Shuler, 33, in the chest as he was shopping at the 149 Grill & Deli on E. 149th St. near Walton Ave. in Mott Haven about 12:15 a.m. Tuesday, cops said.<\/p>\n

\"PolicePolice released images of Jesus Acosta, wanted for killing a fast food worker in Brooklyn and shooting a deli customer in the Bronx (inset) before stealing money from the register and running off. (United Bodegas of America; Google)<\/p>\n

Surveillance video shows the suspect barge into the store, wildly open fire, then\u00a0 grab as much cash as he can from the register before fleeing. Shuler was rushed to Lincoln Hospital<\/a>, where he died.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a good kid. He gave his shirt off his back,\u201d the victim\u2019s father, Douglas Shuler, told CBS News<\/a>. \u201cHe\u2019s going to be missed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just two days earlier, according to police, Acosta began his deadly rampage by shooting two workers<\/a>, one fatally, while trying to rob American Best Wings & Pizza on Rockaway Ave. in Brownsville just after midnight on Sunday.<\/p>\n

Medics rushed both victims to Brookdale University Hospital<\/a>. MD Yousuf, 44, who was struck in the head, could not be saved.<\/p>\n

His co-worker at the eatery, age 39, was shot in the leg and is recovering, cops said.<\/p>\n

\"CopsCops say Jesus Acosta shot 44-year-old MD Yousuf (inset) to death moments after midnight Sunday inside American Best Wings & Pizza on Rockaway Ave. in Brownsville, where the victim worked. Another worker there, age 39, was shot in the leg and is recovering, police said. (Theodore Parisienne \/ New York Daily News; Obtained by Daily News)<\/p>\n

Yousuf, a hardworking Bangladeshi immigrant, sent his wages back to support his large family, including two young daughters, aged 3 and 12, the restaurant\u2019s co-owner told the Daily News.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is very sad,\u201d the co-owner said. \u201cHe came from a very poor family \u2026 Honestly, I don\u2019t know how they will survive afterwards since their only provider is no more.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yousuf\u2019s injured co-worker told ABC News from the hospital \u2014 where he was recovering with a bullet still lodged in his thigh \u2014 that he played dead<\/a> in order to survive. The gunman chillingly checked to see if he was still alive.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe touched me,\u201d the co-worker said. \u201cHe thinking I\u2019m acting like I\u2019m dying.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019s scheduled for surgery in six weeks to remove the bullet.<\/p>\n

The FBI offered a $25,000 reward<\/a> and the United Bodegas of America a $10,000 reward for Acosta\u2019s capture.<\/p>\n

\"MDMD Yousuf (pictured) was shot to death moments after midnight Sunday inside American Best Wings & Pizza on Rockaway Ave. in Brownsville, Brooklyn. (Obtained by Daily News)<\/p>\n

Acosta was identified to authorities by his parole officer, who recognized him from surveillance video that circulated among law enforcement and in local news coverage, police said. Acosta was due to complete parole in 2030.<\/p>\n

According to police,\u00a0Acosta has 13 prior arrests, including for robbery in 2010 when he was just 14.<\/p>\n

In May 2015 at age 19, he shot a man in the arm<\/a> on an East Harlem subway platform after they argued on an uptown No. 2 train, cops said. Acosta was arrested for attempted murder, assault, weapon possession and reckless endangerment.<\/p>\n

He pleaded guilty to assault and weapon possession, and had just been released on parole this April after serving 10 years in state prison.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A cold-blooded killer who gunned down two innocent victims just days apart during a deadly robbery spree in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":332777,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[128,98,125185,16166,787,1027,123823,9,24,63,103,1302,19645,125184,129,131,130],"class_list":["post-332776","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-the-bronx","tag-bronx","tag-brooklyn","tag-career-criminal","tag-deli","tag-gun-violence","tag-homicide","tag-jesus-acosta","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-nypd","tag-restaurant","tag-robbery-spree","tag-store-robberies","tag-the-bronx","tag-the-bronx-headlines","tag-the-bronx-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332776","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=332776"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/332776\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/332777"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=332776"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=332776"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=332776"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}