Police have arrested and charged a New York City parks worker in last month’s fatal shooting of a Venezuelan migrant at a Brooklyn park.
Elijah Mitchell, 23, was arrested Monday and charged with murder, gun possession and reckless endangerment, according to the NYPD. His attorney declined to comment for this story.
Police said that they responded to several 911 calls about shots fired near a migrant shelter in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn at around 10:45 p.m. on July 21.
Three people were fatally shot in two incidents that took place just minutes apart: one in front of a a migrant shelter at 29 Ryerson St. and the other at a nearby park on Flushing Avenue and Steuben Street, according to the NYPD.
The Ryerson Street shooting killed Enny DeJesus Urbina Mendez, 21, and Francisco Fuentes Rangel, 59, authorities have said. Last week, police charged 26-year-old Jorge Said Benitez Villa in that incident.
The shooting at the park claimed the life of Arturo Jose Rodriguez-Marcano, 30. Mitchell, the parks worker, is only charged in that incident.
NYPD officials originally told Gothamist last week that they believed both shootings were connected to migrant gangs. But police said Thursday Mitchell directly targeted Rodriguez-Marcano. Police have not released any information since the two arrests suggesting that the incidents were gang related.
The shootings came as Clinton Hill residents are already divided over the area’s mega-shelters, citing quality of life concerns. Migrants who sleep in the park also told Gothamist they’re shaken and frightened after the shootings.
“I feel horrible,” Cesar Igarro, 21, told Gothamist last week.
“He was alone here in this country, like all of us,” Igarro said of Rodriguez-Marcano. “We think it will be safer in the United States, but here it’s the same – you still see violence, you still feel unsafe.”
This story has been updated with more details about charges and police statements after two shooting incidents.