A man suspected of carrying out a shooting spree in New York City on Monday that left two people dead and another wounded across three locations has been taken into custody, police said.
Sundance Oliver, 28, surrendered to police Tuesday morning and was arrested after what NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig called a “three-day violent rampage” that also included a robbery and domestic assault.
The shootings began around 9:30 a.m. Monday, when Oliver tried to rob the girlfriend of a rival and shot at her, but missed and struck a 96-year-old man in the ankle who survived, police said.
He then allegedly killed two other people — a 21-year-old man inside a Manhattan apartment at around 2:40 p.m. Monday, and a 17-year-old female in a Brooklyn apartment early Tuesday, Essig said.
“At this point in the investigation, we know that both homicide victims are known to our perpetrator,” Essig said. “But the motive is not yet known at this time as to why he killed them, and the investigation continues.”
Oliver was arrested on three counts of robbery and one count of attempted murder, and more counts are pending, Essig said.
Police had earlier warned Oliver should be considered armed and extremely dangerous.
The shooting spree began Monday morning at around 9:30 a.m. EST when police at the NYPD's 77th precinct were alerted to calls of a man shot, the NYPD said.
Officers found a 96-year-old man with a gunshot wound to his right ankle, the NYPD said. They said the shooter had attempted to rob a female victim before opening fire. They missed the female victim, hitting the elderly man instead, before fleeing the scene.
Later Monday, officers with the NYPD's 5th precinct responded to a call at around 2:40 p.m. for a man shot on the sixth floor of a building. The victim was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Then, just after midnight Tuesday, the NYPD's 73rd precinct responded to a report of a female victim shot in the chest in Brooklyn. The victim was taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Oliver has had at least 12 prior arrests on charges that included criminal possession of a weapon, robbery and menacing, police said.
It was not immediately clear Tuesday if Oliver had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
Essig said that Oliver is suspected of being a member of a robbery crew gang.
Prior to the shootings, Oliver allegedly punched his girlfriend in the face Saturday, and on Sunday tried to rob a victim who fled into a bodega, Essig said. Oliver fired two shots in that case, hitting no one, but robbed the store of more than $3,000, the police official said.
