A man suspected of randomly shooting out the apartment windows of a luxury Manhattan high-rise on two occasions from across the East River on Roosevelt Island has surrendered to police.
Farris Koroma, 22, surrendered at the 114th Precinct in Queens’ Astoria neighborhood early Friday, saying he was the man caught on surveillance video firing at the building.
He is charged with charged with criminal possession of a weapon, reckless endangerment and criminal mischief. Koroma surrendered with an attorney present and did not answer questions from reporters as he was transferred to central booking.
The surveillance video released by the NYPD shows a man and a woman walking on Roosevelt Island along the East River at 1am on Saturday, before the man appears to take out a gun and fire repeatedly across the river.
Farris Koroma, 22, (front) surrendered at a Queens police station early on Friday, saying he was the man seen in a surveillance video shooting across the East River
Koroma (left) is seen being escorted from the 114th Precinct to Central Booking early Friday
This surveillance video still shows a man and woman walking together near the East River on Roosevelt Island early on August 18, shortly before the man appeared to shoot across the river
Police said the woman seen in the surveillance video is considered a witness and is not being sought for arrest.
Koroma lives on Roosevelt Island and works selling what are known in New York City as ‘nutcrackers’, homemade cocktails sold surreptitiously by street vendors during the summer.
He was making $500 to $600 a week in the venture, and had ambitious plans for expansion, according to a video he posted to Facebook.
‘I am going to turn this small business into something big and extraordinary’, Koroma said in the video. ‘These nutcrackers right here is gonna run all alcohol services and stores out of business, I guarantee it.’
Koroma also in the video, without explanation, offers a ‘shout out’ to the ‘diplomats’ at the United Nations, which is located about 20 blocks south of the luxury high rise that was terrorized by the shootings last weekend.
Koroma (above) is seen making ‘nutcrackers’, as the homemade cocktails sold surreptitiously by street vendors in New York City are colloquially known
Koroma said in a video that he charged $5 per bottle for the homemade cocktails, which are seen above in a promotion he posted to Facebook
Koroma is seen selling nutcrackers from a cooler in this photo he posted in June
Though nobody was injured in the two shootings on August 17 and 18, the apparent randomness of the crime left residents of One River East on the Upper East Side in fear.
Two windows of separate apartments in the complex were pierced by bullets from across the water on Roosevelt Island within 24 hours of each other.
One tenant who lives on the 14th floor of One River East woke up on morning of August 17 to find their living room completely covered in glass.
On the floor was a .38-caliber bullet that authorities believe was most likely fired from a Smith & Wesson handgun.
Then that night, the window of another apartment on the 32nd floor of the 50-story building was struck by a bullet around 1.15am on August 18.
Neither tenant were injured by the bullets, which shattered their living room windows.
The residents of luxurious Manhattan high-rise apartment One River East (pictured) are living in fear after a mystery gunman began randomly shooting into their windows last week
Two windows of separate apartments (pictured in file photo) at the complex were pierced by bullets from across the water on Roosevelt Island within 24 hours of each other
‘They were lucky they weren’t up late watching television,’ a law enforcement source told the New York Post.
The shootings have terrified the residents of One River East, where two-bedroom apartments can rent for more than $7,000 a month.
Ilene Epstein, whose apartment on the 22nd floor faces the river, said she was ‘petrified for my life’.
‘I moved into this apartment because of the river. I have beautiful views. But I’ll move out of my building before I walk around with a bulletproof vest.’
‘I’m paying close to $10,000 a month in rent so I can use the fitness center and be shot in the head in my apartment,’ another resident said.
Authorities were baffled by the shootings until they discovered that the second apartment was hit at the same time two 911 calls were placed on Roosevelt Island.
Authorities have discovered that the gunshots are coming from Manhattan Park (pictured), a complex on the island 1,400 feet away and directly across from One River East
Two overnight workers heard gunshots coming from Manhattan Park, a complex on the island 1,400 feet away and directly across from One River East.
Officers found that the two living room windows that were hit were clearly visible from the building, where two-bedroom apartments rent for around $3,000 a month.
Authorities believed the gunman could be someone ‘standing on a balcony, shooting across the river’, an NYPD source revealed.
The surveillance video of the second shooting appeared to reveal that the shots were fired from the waterfront by the buildings.