By Chelsia Rose Marcius
A 25-year-old man sought by New York police in the shooting death of a subway rider over the weekend surrendered at a precinct in Chinatown Tuesday afternoon.
Andrew Abdullah had been wanted in connection with the killing of Daniel Enriquez, a passenger who was shot by a lone gunman Sunday while riding a northbound Q train. Abdullah turned himself in more than 72 hours after the unprovoked attack, walking into the 5th Precinct accompanied by officers in civilian clothes. A crowd of about 50 reporters and passersby watched him walk up the steps, clad in black pants and a white T-shirt.
Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell on Tuesday posted a photo of Abdullah on Twitter. Detectives “will apprehend him, but they need the help of every New Yorker,” she wrote.
Sunday’s shooting was the latest in a series of violent episodes in the subway this year. Just six weeks ago, a gunman opened fire on a rush-hour train car in Brooklyn, injuring at least 23 people. In January, a woman, Michelle Go, died after she was shoved onto the tracks of the Times Square station.
On Sunday, about 11:40 a.m., a gunman was pacing in the last car of the Q train before he fired a single bullet at Enriquez, 48. As the train lurched over the Manhattan Bridge, a fellow passenger dialed 911. Seconds later, when the train pulled into the Canal Street station in Lower Manhattan and the doors opened, the suspect fled just as officers descended toward the platform.
The gunman then handed his firearm to a homeless man outside the station, two law enforcement officials said. Police later recovered a 9 mm handgun on scaffolding nearby.
Enriquez, a researcher with Goldman Sachs who was on his way to meet his younger brother for brunch, was rushed to Bellevue Hospital, where he died.
Abdullah had pleaded guilty to attempted possession of a weapon and other charges in 2018. He was paroled after four months in prison, a spokesperson for the state corrections department said. He faced new gun charges in 2020 in Manhattan, according to court records, a case that is pending, and was out on bail. In March 2021, Manhattan prosecutors charged him with assault and endangering the welfare of a child.