Gang takedown in Queens after innocent mom shot in head was years in the making

QUEENS, N.Y. (PIX11) — The NYPD rounded up 16 alleged gang members in Queens during raids over the past week, Mayor Eric Adams, Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell, and Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced Tuesday.

The busts were the culmination of a nearly two-year investigation sparked by the death of a mother who was struck by a stray bullet while out buying milk, an unintended victim of gang violence, officials said.

PIX11’s Nicole Johnson was with the NYPD in the predawn hours last Tuesday when dozens of officers surrounded an apartment building where some of the alleged gang members lived. Eight alleged gang members were taken into custody. They’re accused of terrorizing NYCHA residents in the Astoria and Woodside Houses.