NYPD looking for 3 suspects in Monday's fatal shooting on Bronx subway platform

New York City Police Department detectives were seeking three suspects Tuesday in connection with a fatal shooting a day earlier on a Bronx subway platform which took the life of a 35-year-old man and wounded five others, officials said.

Late Tuesday, an NYPD spokesman said investigators believe there were three shooters in the incident because shell casings from three weapons were found at the scene.

Images of two of the suspects were released Tuesday by the NYPD. One man is said to be in his 20s. He was last seen wearing a black jacket, black hooded sweatshirt, black ski mask, blue ripped jeans and white and red Air Jordan sneakers, according to police.

The second man is also believed to be in his 20s, police officials said. He was seen wearing a black North Face jacket, gray hooded sweatshirt, black ski mask, dark pants and black and yellow Air Jordan sneakers, police said.

Police identified the dead victim as Obed Beltran-Sanchez, of no fixed address, officials said Tuesday.

The other victims were described as suffering wounds that were not life-threatening, according to police. They were listed on Tuesday as being in stable condition in several hospitals, police said.

Police said ages of those shot ranged from 14 to 71 years, and included four men and two women.

The shooting took place Monday at about 4:47 p.m. on the northbound platform of the IRT 4 line at the Mount Eden station, at the beginning of the afternoon rush hour, when the trains and platform was full of children and commuters returning home.

Police said the wanted men were on the train and part of two groups of men when an argument broke out. 

According to NYPD Chief of Transit Michael Kemper, as the train pulled into the station and the doors opened, at least one of the men began shooting. The shooting continued on the platform as passengers ran out of the train car, with six bystanders being wounded, according to the police. The two suspected shooters fled the platform and were seen running out of the station northbound on Jerome Avenue toward Featherbed Lane, according to investigators.

“This is unacceptable,” Kemper told reporters during a news conference late Monday at the train station. “And when detectives make an arrest — notice that I said when [because] I am very confident they will — there must swift, immediate and strong consequences.”

People in the area seemed very concerned about the shooting and believed the area is filled with crime problems.

Janice Ortega, a bus driver, said Monday she saw one of the wounded woman with blood on her face as she was getting into an ambulance.

Ortega said the area “is dangerous. There’s a lot of crazy things. There is always a problem over here.”

By Anthony M. DeStefano

tony.destefano@newsday.comtonynewsday

Anthony M. DeStefano has been a reporter for Newsday since 1986 and covers law enforcement, criminal justice and legal affairs from its New York City offices.