Police officials update the media on the apprehension of a suspect involved in the murder of a pregnant woman.
Photo by Dean Moses
Cops cuffed the estranged boyfriend of a pregnant Harlem woman accused of fatally shooting her during a dispute last weekend, police officials announced Thursday.
Justin Soriano, 40, is accused of murdering Shanice Young, 32, during an argument at the corner of West 128th Street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard at about 1:16 a.m. on Sept. 12.
“We are here to announce that the perpetrator in the case was apprehended earlier this morning in the Bronx without incident by members of the NYPD Regional Task Force,” Police Commissioner Dermot Shea announced at One Police Plaza on Sept. 16. “Our hope here is that this apprehension begins the process of closure for the family and, just as importantly, the community for this terrible, terrible crime.”
According to Chief of Detectives James Essig, Young was returning home from a baby shower with four children in her vehicle when Soriano struck.
“This incident shocked the conscience of the city,” Essig said.
Soriano, a previous boyfriend of Young, brandished a firearm, chasing away the mother’s current partner before returning to the scene where he then fired three shots at the mother, one of which struck her head, killing both her and unborn child.
It is not yet known if he was also the father of her baby.
Detectives tracked Soriano down to an acquaintance’s home at 3552 Carlisle Place in the Olinville section of the Bronx, where he was placed under arrest, and later charged with 2nd degree murder.
Additionally, police sources say that Soriano had been arrested at least 17 times in the past.
Ex-Brit turned Manhattan resident since 2008.