In a statement late Friday, police said Isaac Argro, 22, was charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon in connection with the fatal shooting. Authorities identified the victim as Azsia Johnson.
Police tell CNN that Argro has requested an attorney, although CNN does not yet know the name of his legal representation.
The suspect approached Johnson and shot him in the head near the intersection of East 95th Street and Lexington Avenue on Wednesday night, authorities said. The suspect then left on foot, police said.
Johnson was 20 years old. The 3-month-old, believed to be Johnson’s child, was not injured.
In a statement after the arrest, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said Johnson’s family « are hurting, they deserve justice and we will get it back. »
Authorities said they believed the victim and shooter knew each other and characterized the shooting as a domestic incident. Adams told a press conference earlier this week that officials believe Johnson was being targeted.
Investigators were able to learn the child’s age and other details about Johnson from domestic incident reports that included his name, an official previously told CNN. Reports include her name, those listed as former boyfriends and the name of a second child who was not with her at the time of the shooting, CNN reported.
The mayor previously declined to say the baby’s whereabouts after the shooting, but added that city officials were in contact with family members.
The killing comes amid a push in New York to curb gun violence and has reignited conversations around the scourge following high-profile shootings, including massacres at an upstate New York supermarket and an elementary school in Texas. In the wake of those shootings, President Joe Biden late last month signed into law the first major federal gun safety legislation passed in decades.
« A woman pushes a pram across the block and is shot at point-blank range. It shows how deeply this national issue affects families, » Adams said at a news conference after Johnson’s fatal shooting. « It doesn’t matter if you’re on the Upper East Side or East New York, Brooklyn. »
In January, the mayor unveiled a « Blueprint to End Gun Violence, » which includes long-term goals to expand economic opportunity, improve children’s education and provide greater access to mental health resources. in tackling the gun crisis. And earlier Wednesday, state authorities announced they were filing lawsuits against so-called ghost gun retailers in an attempt to prevent the proliferation of mail-order components used to make untraceable weapons that lead to shootings.
On Friday, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law a bill restricting the concealed carry of firearms in places such as government buildings and schools. It comes after a Supreme Court ruling last week that struck down the state’s century-old law imposing restrictions on carrying concealed handguns outside the home.
Last month, the governor also signed a legislative package tightening state gun laws, including a law that raised the minimum age to purchase a semi-automatic rifle to 21.
CNN’s Pervaiz Shallwani, Jason Hanna and Brynn Gingras contributed to this report.
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