A 26-year-old man has been arrested in the shooting outside a Manhattan nightclub that killed a mother of a 3-year-old boy out celebrating her own birthday with her best friend early Monday, authorities say.
Dalone Jamison, who has an extensive arrest record, faces second-degree murder, second-degree assault and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon charges, police said. As he was led in handcuffs from a police stationhouse Tuesday night, he told reporters he didn't fire the bullet that killed Walikque Grace Faussett, whom Jamison claimed was a friend.
It's not clear if he has an attorney.
Police said the alleged shooter was booted from Motivo, a club at Fifth Avenue and East 21st Street in the Flatiron District, after arguing with another patron. They say he told bouncers he'd come back with a gun. He allegedly returned some time later, began shooting and fled in a car, authorities said.
Faussett, who had been at the club for a belated celebration of her 24th birthday with her best friend, was shot in the back as she tried to hail a cab home around 4 a.m. She was pronounced dead at a hospital. Her 25-year-old friend was shot in the hip and foot but is expected to be OK. Another woman, who is 30, was shot in the shoulder and is also expected to be OK.
Witness Dennis Farrell was about half a block away when gunfire erupted; he said he thought he heard six or seven shots.
"I turned the corner. It was mayhem," Farrell said.
Authorities say the suspect knows Faussett, but she was not his intended target and he allegedly didn't know he had shot her. It's not clear who he allegedly intended to shoot.
Meanwhile, Faussett's parents want their daughter's killer brought to justice. Mother Wendi Rodriguez said following Jamison's arrest Tuesday she was "angry" and "really, really frustrated," but was too upset to speak further.
The victim's brother, Prince Fausesett, said he was glad Jamison was arrested "but my sister's still gone."
Jamison claimed to be friends with Walikque on social media, but Prince Faussett said he was no friend.
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"I don't know who that is," he said. "He's a monster."
Jamison is from the Bronx, but he was hiding out in Brooklyn when police found him, authorities said.
"A lot of times gang members are on the run, they hang with other gang members and that's how we found him," said NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce.
The victim's parents say their daughter, who worked at Nordstrom in White Plains, was a good person who didn't have a mean bone in her body. She had a 3-year-old son named Alexander.
"They got the guy that did it, yeah. So the rest of his life is easy in jail. He gets to eat free," said father Walter Faussett. "We gotta take care of Alex. Where does our support come in?"
An outpouring of sadness and disbelief swelled on Faussett's Instagram page as friends expressed shock over her death Monday.
"Grace stop playing we just agreed that you get to see zi today just call me and tell me I can come over," one person wrote.
Others wrote they would always miss her and said they would help her son if he ever needed anything.
Motivo's management did not immediately respond to phone and email messages. The club is generally open Fridays and Saturdays, but it was open to the public for a special party Sunday night, according to its website.
