The NYPD arrested Jesus Acosta on Saturday morning following a manhunt in connection with two fatal shootings that occurred days apart in the Bronx and Brooklyn earlier this week.
Acosta, 31, of the Bronx, has been charged with two counts of murder and attempted murder, along with manslaughter, robbery, and weapons charges, authorities said. He was taken into custody at a park on Watson Avenue and Morrison Avenue in Melrose after an anonymous 911 call, according to sources.
The first shooting occurred early Sunday at American Best Wings and Pizza in Brownsville, Brooklyn, on Rockaway Avenue. Police said Acosta shot Mohammed Rasel in the leg before shooting Rasel's coworker, 44-year-old MD Yousuf, in the head. Yousuf, a father of two daughters, was killed. Authorities said Acosta also stole the entire week of sales money from the restaurant during the shooting.
Two days later, on Tuesday around 12:16 a.m., Acosta allegedly entered 149 Grill & Deli at East 149th Street and Walton Avenue in the West Concourse section of the Bronx. Surveillance video showed a gunman opening fire shortly after entering the bodega, then going behind the counter and taking cash from the register. A 33-year-old customer was shot in the chest and later died from the injury.
Police identified Acosta as the suspected gunman in both incidents. The United Bodegas of America thanked the FBI for its involvement in the case and called on lawmakers to install panic buttons inside bodegas to enhance worker safety.