Gunman opens fire at party on Randall's Island, killing woman: police

RANDALL’S ISLAND, Manhattan (PIX11) – A gunman opened fire into a crowd of people partying on Randall's Island in New York City, killing a woman and injuring two others early Monday morning, police said. The shooting happened at Field 71 near a migrant shelter on Randall's Island around 3:30 a.m., according to the NYPD. The [...]

RANDALL’S ISLAND, Manhattan (PIX11) – A gunman opened fire into a crowd of people partying on Randall's Island in New York City, killing a woman and injuring two others early Monday morning, police said.

The shooting happened at Field 71 near a migrant shelter on Randall's Island around 3:30 a.m., according to the NYPD.

The gunman approached a group of about 50 people who had gathered for a party to celebrate the recent presidential election in Venezuela and fired into the crowd, according to NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell.

A 44-year-old woman was shot and killed, police said. A 31-year-old woman and a 32-year-old man were shot and wounded, authorities said.

Police believe the shooting was in retaliation for a gunpoint robbery that happened earlier in the evening on Randall's Island.

"The person who did the shooting was the victim of an unreported gunpoint robbery ... that happened earlier that evening," Chell said.

The gunman took off on a moped after the shooting and hasn’t been arrested, police said.

It appears the victims were not the intended targets, according to police. Both women shot were living at a migrant shelter, police said.

Later in the afternoon, police confiscated illegal mopeds and unregistered vehicles out of the area in hopes of driving crime down on Randall's Island.

"When it comes to ghost cars, paper plates and mopeds, we've been speaking up about this for the better part of two years now and how it's probably our No. 1 quality-of-life complaint throughout the city and how it conflates with certain crimes being committed. So robberies and shootings, you'll see the getaway car being mopeds and ghost plates," Chell said.