QUEENS, NY – Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz has announced the arraignment of Dante Hunter and Shamel Capers following their indictment in connection with the fatal shooting of 19-year-old Joshua Taylor in Middle Village on July 23, 2023. Hunter is charged with murder, and Capers with attempted murder, among other charges.
The incident, which unfolded in the early hours of July 23 last year, began when a friend of Taylor’s threw a drink towards Capers and a friend outside a convenience store, sparking a verbal dispute that escalated into a shootout. Hunter, who joined Capers, is alleged to have fired the round that killed Taylor. The exchange of gunfire resulted in more than two dozen 9 mm shell casings recovered at the scene.
Hunter, 25, of Far Rockaway, faces charges including second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon. Capers, 24, of Brooklyn, faces charges of attempted murder and weapon possession. Both defendants could face up to 25 years to life if convicted of their respective top charges.
The investigation was spearheaded by Detective Christopher Gerardi of the NYPD’s 104th Precinct Detective Squad and Detective Lizabeth Klein of the Queens North Homicide Squad. Capers was arrested on May 16 in New Jersey and has been extradited to New York to face charges, while Hunter was already in custody on a parole warrant at the time of the indictment. Justice Michael Aloise has scheduled their next court appearance for June 18.
- 62-Year-Old Man Beaten With Sign Inside Queens Subway Station, NYPD Hunts Suspect
Police are searching for an unidentified attacker who repeatedly struck a 62-year-old man with a plastic sign inside the 46th Street subway station in Queens before fleeing.
QUEENS, NY — A 62-year-old man was assaulted inside a Queens subway station after an unidentified individual approached him and repeatedly struck him with a plastic sign, according to the NYPD.
The attack happened Wednesday, September 30, at approximately 1:15 a.m. on the mezzanine level of the 46th Street subway station in Sunnyside.
Police said the suspect approached the victim and struck him multiple times about the body before fleeing the station on foot.
The suspect remains unidentified, and investigators are asking the public for help locating the individual.
Attack occurred inside 46th Street subway station
The assault occurred within the jurisdiction of the NYPD’s 108th Precinct and Transit District 20, which cover portions of western Queens and the surrounding subway system.
According to NYPD Crime Stoppers, the attacker used a plastic sign to repeatedly strike the victim during the early-morning encounter.
Police have not released details about what led to the confrontation, whether the victim knew the attacker or the extent of the man’s injuries.
The attacker fled in an unknown direction.
NYPD asks public to help identify attacker
Investigators are seeking information about the assault as part of their ongoing New York City investigation.
Anyone who recognizes the suspect or has information about the September 30 attack is asked to contact the NYPD Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).
Spanish-speaking callers can contact 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
Tips can also be submitted anonymously through the NYPD Crime Stoppers website or through the department’s @NYPDTips account on X.
Police have not announced an arrest or released a motive for the attack.
NYPD Crime Stoppers seeks the public’s help identifying a suspect who assaulted a 62-year-old man with a plastic sign inside a Queens subway station.
- Lavine Condemns Mamdani’s Oct. 7 Statement, Calls Mayor’s Remarks ‘Lamentable’
The Long Island Democrat sharply criticized New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani after the mayor described Israel’s response to the October 7 attacks as a genocide.
Glen Cove, NY — New York State Assemblymember Charles Lavine issued a forceful statement Thursday marking the third anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, condemning New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani over comments describing Israel’s military response as a genocide.
Lavine, a Democrat representing parts of Nassau County, accused the mayor of minimizing the brutality of the Hamas attack while appealing to groups hostile toward Israel. His statement was released from Glen Cove on the anniversary of the attacks that killed about 1,200 people in Israel and led to the ongoing war in Gaza.
Lavine rebukes mayor’s comments
Referring to Mamdani’s anniversary statement, Lavine said, “Zohran Mamdani’s official statement on the third anniversary of October 7’s primitive butchery is lamentable, bizarre, and pathetic.”
Lavine said he was among the elected officials invited to view footage recorded by Hamas during the attack.
“I was one of the public officials invited to watch the videos so proudly made that day by the Hamas murderers,” Lavine said. “Those cruel images will remain forever etched in my soul.”
The assemblymember further argued that Mamdani’s message attempted to appeal simultaneously to “Hamas’ supporters and Israel’s haters and the haters of Jews,” calling that effort “nothing less than stupefying.”
Anniversary renews political divisions
Lavine also urged continued remembrance of those killed and kidnapped during the October 7 attack.
“We will remember that day, and we will remember all the Israelis and the 49 Americans kidnapped and murdered in a patently obvious act of genocide,” he said. “Mamdani’s statement deserves condemnation and censure.”
The lawmaker concluded by saying, “The Mayor of New York City should spend his time and effort fighting for peace instead of engaging in schlocky attempts to make a tragic series of events even more tragic.”
Mamdani’s comments criticizing Israel’s conduct in Gaza have drawn both support and criticism from political leaders, reflecting broader divisions over the conflict. Israel has rejected allegations that it is committing genocide in Gaza, while the legal question remains the subject of proceedings before the International Court of Justice. Information about those proceedings is available from the court at https://www.icj-cij.org.
Related coverage involving New York, Politics, and Israel is available on Shore News Network.
- Mamdani Condemns Israel, Trump on 3-Year Anniversary of Hamas Terror Attack, Slaughter of Women and Children
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani condemned Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre but said the suffering “did not begin nor end that day” before accusing Israel of genocide, occupation, apartheid and war crimes.
NEW YORK CITY — Mayor Zohran Mamdani marked the third anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack Tuesday by mourning the Israelis killed and abducted while arguing that the suffering surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict began before the massacre.
“This day is profoundly painful for so many New Yorkers,” Mamdani said. “It marks three years since the horrific war crimes of October 7.”
Mamdani said Hamas killed more than 1,100 Israelis and abducted 251 others in the Oct. 7, 2023, attack.
‘The Suffering Did Not Begin Nor End That Day’
After addressing the Israeli victims, Mamdani turned the statement toward Gaza and the actions of the Israeli government.
“The suffering did not begin nor end that day,” Mamdani said. “It instead continued through the Israeli government’s devastating, ongoing genocide in Gaza.”
While the statement does not explicitly say Israel caused the Oct. 7 attack. Mamdani’s language, he framed the massacre within a broader history of conflict and Palestinian suffering rather than treating Oct. 7 as the beginning of that suffering.
Mamdani Accuses Israel of Genocide and War Crimes
Mamdani said more than 74,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, including more than 21,000 children, and said more than 1,400 Palestinians had been killed since what he called the “so-called ceasefire.”
He also accused Israel of bombing ambulances, striking residential buildings and journalists and turning away food aid at border crossings.
“Many New Yorkers are reckoning with this unbearable grief, and we mourn alongside them — all while knowing that our tax dollars fund these war crimes,” Mamdani said.
Israel has rejected accusations that its military campaign in Gaza amounts to genocide and says its operations have targeted Hamas following the Oct. 7 attack.
Mayor Also Blames U.S. Arms Support
Mamdani also criticized the federal government for continuing to provide military assistance to Israel.
“Three years later, we must refuse to accept a world in which occupation and apartheid continue, where war crimes are met with impunity, and our federal government continues its complicity with every arms shipment,” he said.
Mamdani closed the statement by calling for freedom and security for all people affected by the conflict.
“To honor the dead, we must fight for a world in which every person can live with freedom, safety, and dignity,” he said.
- Badly Burned Man Found Dead in Vacant Queens Lot
Police found the body of a badly burned man in a vacant Briarwood lot, where investigators believe he may have been living in a tent.
QUEENS, N.Y. — Police are investigating after a badly burned man was found dead in a vacant lot in the Briarwood section of Queens.
The body was discovered near 139th Street and Hillside Avenue, according to police.
Investigators believe the man may have been living in a tent at the property.
Medical Examiner to Determine Cause of Death
The NYPD secured the area as detectives began investigating the circumstances surrounding the death.
Authorities had not immediately determined whether the man died as a result of a fire, suffered injuries before being burned or died from another cause.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will determine the cause and manner of death.
Identity Not Immediately Released
Police had not publicly identified the man.
No arrests had been announced, and authorities had not said whether they were treating the death as a homicide.
The investigation remains ongoing.
- New York City’s Gold-Digging Mole People Have a New Threat Lurking: ICE
People have been climbing into New York City’s sewer system searching for valuables washed into drains, and one of the best-known cases ended with an ICE arrest after a man emerged from a manhole near the United Nations.
NEW YORK CITY — New York’s latest underground mystery has an answer, and it may be stranger than the mystery itself.
People have been climbing into the city’s sewer and storm-drain system looking for gold, jewelry and other valuables they believe were washed beneath the streets, according to police accounts and recent court cases.
The scavengers have been nicknamed “mole people” after repeated sightings of groups entering and emerging from manholes across Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens.
Men Told Police They Were Searching for Valuables
One of the highest-profile incidents happened near Park Avenue and East 61st Street during the United Nations General Assembly.
Samuel Reveron Ascanio and Kevin Rodriguez were arrested after allegedly emerging from a manhole in the area.
According to investigators, the men said they had gone underground looking for valuables that wash into storm drains and sewers.
The location initially raised security concerns because of the heavy police presence surrounding the nearby United Nations, but authorities did not establish a terrorism connection.
‘Mole People’ Sightings Have Been Happening for Months
The phenomenon did not begin with Ascanio.
Groups of people have been filmed entering sewers in Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan for months, sometimes wearing waders and carrying flashlights.
The sightings sparked theories ranging from urban exploration to theft to social media stunts.
The valuables explanation gained credibility after suspects in the Manhattan case allegedly told police that treasure hunting was exactly what they were doing.
Sewer Treasure Hunting Is Not New
The idea of finding money or jewelry beneath New York is not entirely new.
Lost valuables have historically ended up in sewer and drainage systems, particularly after storms wash items from streets and sidewalks into catch basins.
That does not mean the tunnels are filled with easy money.
Urban explorers have said valuable discoveries are rare, while city officials warn that the risks are very real.
The New York City Department of Environmental Protection has warned that entering sewers is illegal and dangerous because of toxic gases, unstable surfaces, confined spaces and sudden flooding.
ICE Later Arrested Ascanio
Ascanio’s case took another turn after his city arrest.
After he was released following his arraignment on the sewer trespassing case, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement took him into federal custody.
Federal immigration authorities identified Ascanio as a Venezuelan national and said he was subject to immigration enforcement.
That transformed an already unusual weird news story into a collision of sewer treasure hunting, city policing and federal immigration enforcement.
Mystery Partly Solved, But Sightings Continue
The arrests have provided at least one confirmed explanation for why some people have been disappearing beneath New York streets.
They are looking for treasure.
Whether all of the city’s recent sewer explorers have the same motive remains unclear.
But after months of grainy videos showing people lifting manhole covers and disappearing underground, New Yorkers finally have an answer for at least some of the city’s so-called mole people.