Brooklyn man charged with murder of 86-year-old man in city scooter shootings

A suspected scooter-riding shooter charged with killing one victim and wounding two others in a rampage over the weekend was ordered held in protective custody Monday by a Queens judge following his criminal court appearance, officials said.

Thomas Abreu, 25, of Brooklyn, appeared at the proceeding via a video link from a hospital bed and was also ordered to have a psychological evaluation by Criminal Court Judge Scott Dunn. He will next appear in court on July 13, according to a spokeswoman for the Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz.

In a criminal complaint unsealed Monday, Abreu was charged with carrying out a wild scooter ride Saturday morning through parts of Brooklyn and Queens as he fired a 9 mm handgun at numerous people on the street, wounding Hamod Saeidi, 86, on a sidewalk in Richmond Hill. Family members said Saeidi was on his way to a mosque to pray at the time. He later died in a hospital.

Abreu also was charged with three other shootings within the space of several minutes in Brooklyn and Queens, wounding two people and missing two intended targets, according to the complaint. The two wounded victims were taken to local hospitals and were treated for gunshot wounds. One victim suffered a head wound while sitting in a parked minivan while another was hit in the shoulder, the complaint stated.

“The streets of two boroughs were turned into scene of terror as [Abreu] rode his scooter, shooting indiscriminately at pedestrians and others,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement accompanying the unsealing of the complaint.

Abreu entered no plea during the court appearance and reportedly made rambling statements to the court about Russians, Chinese and Italians being after him. Police said that Abreu has made no statements to detectives of any value.

As of late Monday, police had no clear motive for the shootings. Investigators, who said Abreu used an untraceable ghost gun, are looking into whether Abreu was on a random shooting spree or might have targeted one of the victims and hit the others as collateral damage, one police official familiar with the investigation said. Police made the arrest of Abreu after reviewing surveillance tapes and talking with witnesses.

The complaint charged Abreu with one count of second-degree murder, four counts of attempted murder, two counts of assault and a charge of criminal possession of a weapon. If convicted of the top murder charge Abreu could face a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison.

Abreu is being represented by attorney Jonathan Latimer, who didn’t return telephone calls and email requests for comment.

By Anthony M. DeStefano

tony.destefano@newsday.comtonynewsday

Anthony M. DeStefano has been a reporter for Newsday since 1986 and covers law enforcement, criminal justice and legal affairs from its New York City offices.