Police recovered the murder weapon used to kill a straphanger in an apparently unprovoked weekend attack on the Q line after the alleged gunman, who has since been identified, handed the firearm off to a man outside the subway station he fled, law enforcement sources told News 4.
Daniel Enriquez was shot at close range by the suspect, who remains at large following the 11:45 a.m. Sunday shooting on the northbound Q as it passed across the Manhattan Bridge.
The NYPD shared wanted posters of the suspect (below) on Monday. Multiple law enforcement sources told NBC New York that the suspect, identified as Andrew Abdullah, is wanted for murder in the case. Investigator believe Abdullah is in his 20s, and police have probable cause to arrest him for the murder, according to law enforcement sources.
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Enriquez, a guitar player who spoke multiple languages, lived on St. John's Place and worked for Goldman Sachs in its research division. The company described him as a "dedicated and beloved" colleague.
"We are devastated by this senseless tragedy and our deepest sympathies are with Dan’s family at this difficult time," Goldman CEO David Solomon said in a statement.
Enriquez lived in Park Slop for 18 with his partner Adam Pollock, who told the Daily Mail that Enriquez never took the train, but wanted to avoid surging ride-share prices.
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"I don't know why I didn't fight him on that. I just didn't want to fight with him, you know," Pollock told the Daily Mail.
Witnesses told police the suspect paced back and forth in the train's last car before displaying a firearm and shooting a 48-year-old rider "without provocation."
There'd been no prior contact between the two men, they said.
Police said Abdullah fled the Q train after it pulled into its next stop at the Canal Street station. Responding officers found Enriquez shot in the torso.
He was pronounced dead at a hospital.
Transit officials say MTA surveillance footage of the shooter in the station will be critical in tracking him down. Police said he was last seen wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt, grey sweatpants and white sneakers.
After exiting the station, police sources said the suspect handed the murder weapon off to a homeless man outside the subway station. Police questioned the man who said he does not know the shooter and was randomly handed the gun.
Police sources said that Abdullah has 11 prior arrests, and is believed to have gang ties.
Anyone with information on him is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
Sunday's apparently random shooting marked the latest in a series of such violent attacks. And New Yorkers are more than on edge.
A man opened fire inside a Brooklyn subway train during a morning rush last month, wounding 10 people. The alleged shooter faces terrorism and other charges. In January, a woman was pushed to her death in front of a subway train by a stranger.
There have been hammer attacks. And shoves. And far too much crime, many say.
MTA CEO and Chairman Janno Lieber acknowledged as much on Monday.
"New Yorkers are tough and they demonstrated again and again during the pandemic that they’re trying to resume their normal lives but they can't resume normal life if just getting around is frightening," Lieber said. "For so many New Yorkers, the transit system is the only way to get around and to live their normal lives. You can't do that if you're scared to get up and go to brunch and most New York activities on a Sunday, for fear of being attacked."
Lieber said the Q is the line he has ridden for 25 years and the train he and his kids use most regularly. They're all in college now, Lieber said, but come home from Manhattan in the early morning hours, around midnight, 1 a.m.
"It's always felt safe," Lieber said, calling the route iconic. "Brooklynites know that when you come out of the DeKalb tunnel onto the Manhattan Bridge, you see the city's skyline. It's the way New Yorkers get a little dose about what's inspirational about this city -- that view."
"Now, for a while, that's not going to be the same knowing that a great New Yorker, Daniel Enriquez, lost his life yesterday in a random and cold-blooded act of violence," he added. "Our hearts go out to his family, his sister, everybody in his family. Our hearts go out to all New Yorkers who are feeling terrified at this moment."
The shooting comes as the MTA enjoys upticks in ridership unseen since the start of the pandemic. MTA officials called the latest violence a setback for their recovery.
And they're asking for the public's help finding the suspect.
"There is someone who knows this person, from his clothing, from his pattern … there's a wanted poster out there and they always say call the tips line," Lieber said. "If you know anything about this person who appears to have committed this terrible crime, help the police and help New York."
