A man suspected of shooting people indiscriminately on a scooter in New York City made paranoid remarks several times before and during his arraignment on Monday, according to multiple reports.
Brooklyn resident Thomas Abrew, 25, appeared in court via closed-circuit television from a Queens hospital bed where he had been held without bail. ABC7 report. He was charged with shooting dead 86-year-old pedestrian Hamu Saidi on Saturday and injuring three others.
“I think they want to kill me or murder me. They say I’m innocent. That’s the biggest problem. They need my innocence first and foremost. I’m innocent.” It’s true, I wasn’t free, but everyone says I’m innocent,” Abreu said through a Spanish-language interpreter at the beginning of the hearing.
At one point he nodded and asked Judge Scott Dunn: You keep your eyes closed, are you alert enough to move forward? ” according to new york post. (Report: All charges dropped against man who stabbed homeless man on subway)
A man accused of randomly shooting people from a moving scooter this weekend was formally charged Monday morning. Thousands gathered in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park to say goodbye to 86-year-old Hammod Saidi. @JessicaMooreTV report. https://t.co/XW7jACYFDM
— CBS New York (@CBSNewYork) July 10, 2023
“The Russians are chasing me, the Chinese are chasing me, the Italians are chasing me, Africa is chasing me,” prosecutor Jonathan Selkow told detectives in court, according to the New York Post. said.
“You’re wearing earphones, aren’t you?”
Speaking about the shooting, Abreu said, “I left my house on Elton Street. I was on a scooter. I jumped forward and someone dropped my bag. I looked and there was a gun and I took it. , I’ve kept it ever since. They were after me. They’re bad people.”
According to the paper, Abrew was a delivery man at Sazone Perez, a Dominican restaurant in Brooklyn. His boss, Jose Rodriguez, who served for five years, said Abreu quit his job that Saturday because “people were following him.”
Rodriguez added that Abreu once claimed that Rodriguez and other employees were microchipped.
“I loved him like a son. He came on time and was kind. He was not smart,” Rodriguez added, according to the New York Post.
Judge Dunn remanded Abreu’s custody and ordered a psychiatric evaluation, according to the report.
“The streets of the two boroughs turned into scenes of terror as the defendant allegedly rode a scooter and fired indiscriminately at pedestrians and others. Please arrest the suspects quickly.” I thank the New York Police Department for his actions and my office will hold him to full accountability and pursue justice for the victims,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in an article Monday. statement.
Abreu faces charges of murder, attempted murder, assault and possession of a weapon, Katz added. If convicted, Abreu could face up to 25 years in prison for life.
