A senseless act of gang violence in Brooklyn has left an innocent infant dead, sending shockwaves through the New York City community and reigniting longstanding conversations about the persistent crisis of gun violence across the United States. Seven-month-old Kaori Patterson-Moore was fatally shot on April 1 while sitting in her pushchair in the Williamsburg neighborhood, in what investigators have confirmed was a mistaken, unintended attack tied to gang activity.
Two suspects are now in police custody following the incident. Twenty-one-year-old Amuri Greene, who law enforcement officials identify as the gunman, faces three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. He has also been hit with additional charges including five counts of criminal weapon possession, two counts of attempted criminal weapon possession, and two counts of assault. During his court appearance on Friday, Greene entered a plea of not guilty to all charges. Per reporting from CBS News, the BBC’s U.S. affiliate partnership, Greene was thrown from the suspect vehicle moments after the shooting, requiring hospital treatment before he was taken into official police custody.
The second suspect, 18-year-old Matthew Rodriguez, is accused of driving the scooter that carried Greene during the attack. Police confirmed he was arrested days later in Pennsylvania, with formal charges still pending against him as investigators continue to piece together details of the incident. Surveillance footage of the attack, reviewed by law enforcement, captures the two men riding against the direction of traffic through Williamsburg on a scooter. After the shooting, the driver lost control, crashed into oncoming vehicles, and fled the scene before he was eventually apprehended out of state.
In the wake of the tragic killing, community members, family, and friends of the infant gathered for a moving candlelight vigil at the intersection where the shooting unfolded on Friday evening. A makeshift memorial of flowers, candles, and handwritten tributes has continued to grow at the site as locals mourn the unnecessary loss of a young life, one of the latest victims of the rampant gun violence crisis that plagues communities across the United States.