23-year-old Elijah Mitchell from Queens was indicted on multiple hate crime charges related to the fatal shooting of Venezuelan migrant Arturo Jose Rodriguez-Marcano in Brooklyn. Prosecutors allege that Mitchell, motivated by anger over migrants staying in a local park, shot Rodriguez-Marcano once in the chest on July 21. The victim died at a hospital 30 minutes later. Mitchell, who worked at the park, returned to the scene while off duty and displayed a gun before shooting the victim. He was arrested and charged on July 29.
This incident is part of a wave of violence near migrant shelters in New York City. Just minutes after the shooting at Steuben Playground, another shooting outside a migrant shelter resulted in two deaths. Mitchell is not connected to this incident. In late July, a triple shooting outside a city-run migrant shelter left one woman dead and two men injured. Additionally, a man was stabbed outside the same shelter.
The shooting at the park left other migrants who stayed there shaken. They expressed feeling unsafe and vulnerable in the United States despite seeking refuge. Mitchell faces up to 25 years to life in prison for second-degree murder as a hate crime and other charges. He is set to appear in court on October 23. A public defender has been assigned to his case, but no further comments were available.
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