Bronx Man Charged With Shooting Outside Of Deli

 

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Edward A. Caban, the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced the unsealing of a Complaint charging CHRISTOPHER SCOTT with firing a shot at a victim on a commercial street in the Bronx on August 6, 2023.  SCOTT will be presented this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Valerie Figueredo   

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “As alleged, Christopher Scott conducted a targeted shooting of an individual on a summer night outside of a deli near the Pelham Parkway Houses in the Bronx.  Thanks to the swift action of our law enforcement partners and the prosecutors of this Office, Scott is now facing justice for his alleged violent actions.”

NYPD Commissioner Edward A. Caban said: “The firing of a gun on a public street will never be accepted as a way of life in New York City.  Such a grave act of violence demands accountability.  I commend the work of our brave NYPD officers who go in harm’s way, removing illegal guns, and those who pull the trigger, from our communities.  I am also grateful for our close alignment with the Office of the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York as we work together to build strong cases and hold the most violent offenders accountable.”

According to the allegations in the Complaint:[1]

On August 6, 2023, shortly before 10:30 p.m., SCOTT fired a gunshot at an individual (“Victim-1”) near Williamsbridge Road in the Bronx.  

Surveillance video captured SCOTT approaching Victim-1, brandishing a firearm, and firing a shot at Victim-1, then following Victim-1 inside a nearby building.  A still image from the surveillance footage with SCOTT circled in red is below:

Within minutes after SCOTT fired the shot at Victim-1, and shortly after SCOTT appears to have hidden the firearm used in the shooting under the wheel of a nearby vehicle, NYPD officers arrived at the scene of the shooting, and SCOTT proceeded to interact with the NYPD officers. 

After the NYPD officers left the scene of the shooting, one of SCOTT’s associates appears to have retrieved the firearm used in the shooting for SCOTT, and then SCOTT and that associate drove away from the location of the shooting in a grey SUV.  

Upon canvassing the scene of the shooting, NYPD officers recovered a shell casing.  

On August 14, 2023, shortly before 10:30 p.m., SCOTT was arrested in connection with the above-mentioned shooting.  Around the time of his arrest, SCOTT was seen driving the same grey SUV he drove on the night of the shooting.  During an inventory search of that SUV, a Springfield Armory model XDS-9 MOD2 OSP 3.3 9mm caliber semi-automatic pistol (the “Firearm”) with eight live rounds of ammunition in the magazine and one live round in the chamber was recovered under the driver’s seat of the vehicle. 

The National Integrated Ballistic Information Network of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives found a preliminary correlation between the shell casing recovered at the scene of the shooting and the Firearm, indicating that the firearm that was used in the shooting was the same firearm found under the driver’s seat of SCOTT’s SUV.   

SCOTT was not permitted to possess ammunition or a firearm because of a prior felony conviction for attempted criminal possession of a weapon. 

SCOTT, 26, of the Bronx, New York, is charged with one count of possession of ammunition after a felony conviction and one count of possession of a firearm after a felony conviction, which each carry a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.

The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge. 

Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the NYPD.  Mr. Williams also thanked the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office for their assistance in this case.

This case is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Meredith C. Foster is in charge of the prosecution.

The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint and the description of the Complaint set forth below constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.