NEW YORK, NY – In September of 2020, a stray bullet fired by Issam Elabbar, 32, struck and killed a Queens mother of three inside her Jackson Heights apartment. Now, Elabbar, after being convicted for his crime has been sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Queens District Melinda Attorney Katz said, “The victim of this senseless crime was in her home – a place where one would expect to be safe from harm. Tragically, the woman’s oldest son discovered his mother gasping for air and bleeding to death. In pleading guilty, the defendant has admitted to firing randomly without regard for human life. He has now been sentenced by the Court for his criminal actions.”
According to a court report, Elabbar, of 41st Avenue in Corona, pleaded guilty in December 2021 to manslaughter in the second degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree before Queens Supreme Court Justice Michael Aloise.
District Attorney Katz said, “Shortly before 1 a.m. on September 30, 2020, the defendant was in the roadway on 34th Avenue near 92nd Street when he fired a single shot over his shoulder. At the same time, Bertha Arriaga, was at her apartment’s bedroom window. The bullet ripped through the window and pierced Ms. Arriaga in the neck.”
According to Court records, the 43-year-old wife and mother fell to the floor bleeding profusely from the single gunshot wound. As she gasped for air, the woman’s then-14-year-old son heard noise, walked into the room and saw his mother in a pool of blood struggling to breath.
Ms. Arriaga’s husband performed CPR on her in an effort to save her life, but the injury was fatal.