Police have arrested a second suspect in connection with the tragic stray-bullet killing of a seven-month-old baby in Brooklyn, a case that has shocked New York City and sparked outrage among officials and residents.
Matthew Rodriguez, 18, was taken into custody Friday in Pennsylvania by New York Police Department detectives working alongside the U.S. Marshals Service, according to the NYPD.
The arrest comes two days after the fatal shooting that claimed the life of Kaori Patterson-Moore, who was struck by a bullet while sitting in her stroller on a Brooklyn street Wednesday afternoon.
Authorities say the suspected gunman, 21-year-old Amuri Greene, had already been arrested shortly after the attack. Greene appeared in court Friday night, where he pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges. A judge ordered that he be held without bail.
According to a criminal complaint, the shooting occurred when two men riding a moped sped down a Brooklyn street and approached a group of people gathered on a corner. Greene, who was riding on the back of the moped, allegedly opened fire toward the crowd.
One of the bullets struck the infant, who was with her family at the time.
Kaori’s mother, Lianna Charles-Moore, described the horrifying moment in an interview with the New York Post. She said she initially believed the sounds were fireworks before realizing the situation was far more serious.
While comforting her startled two-year-old son, who had been grazed by a bullet during the attack, she turned and saw her baby daughter bleeding from a gunshot wound to the head.
“My daughter was innocent. She didn’t deserve that,” Charles-Moore said, adding that Kaori had recently started saying “Mama” and was just beginning to crawl.
Investigators say Greene later told police that he was aiming for someone else in the crowd when he fired the shots.
His defense attorney, Jay Schwitzman, said after the arraignment that he plans to conduct an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the deadly incident.
Police said the moped carrying the two suspects crashed into a car roughly two blocks away from the shooting scene. The collision threw both men from the vehicle.
Greene suffered injuries and was hospitalized while in police custody, but the moped driver fled the scene.
Authorities have not yet released detailed court documents outlining Rodriguez’s alleged role in the crime. However, police had previously indicated they were searching for the moped driver believed to have been involved in the attack.
Officials have not confirmed how Rodriguez and Greene know each other or where Rodriguez resides. Formal charges against Rodriguez were still pending at the time of his arrest.
New York City leaders expressed deep sorrow and anger over the death of the infant.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch both condemned the violence and extended condolences to the victim’s family.
“This is a terrible day in our city, a tragedy that truly shocks the conscience,” Tisch said during a news briefing following the shooting.
The investigation remains ongoing as authorities continue to gather evidence and determine the full circumstances behind the deadly drive-by attack.
