Man charged with Brooklyn serial killings
Police say all three men were shot with a .22 caliber gun in their Brooklyn shops, all were elderly, and all were of Middle Eastern descent.
A Staten Island man, Salvatore Perrone, has been charged with murdering three Brooklyn shopkeepers, police said.
The New York Post reported ballistic tests showed that a .22-caliber Ruger rifle found in Perrone’s bag in his apartment matched the weapon used in two of the three shootings.
Perrone, a salesman who is aged 63, was charged with three counts of murder and possession of a weapon.
The developments in the case came after a public appeal for help and the release of surveillance footage which allegedly showed Perrone at all three crime scenes.
Perrone was taken into custody on Tuesday night and questioned throughout today.
A search of his Midwood apartment found a bag allegedly containing weapons, clothing, gloves and knives, AP reported.
Three men have been killed since July. The most recent victim, Rahmatolia Vahidipour, was buried on Sunday as shopkeepers in Brooklyn were told to tighten security and watch for any suspicious activity.
Vahidipour, 78, was shot in the head and chest in his store in Flatbush and as in the previous two shootings, the killer tried to cover his body with clothes.
Police said the victims' stores are within a 5-mile radius, none of them have surveillance cameras, and ballistics evidence connected the same gun to the shootings, CBS News reported.
The other victims were clothing store owner Mohamed Gebeli on July 6, and Isaac Kadare on August 2 who was shot at his Amazing 99 Cents Deal shop in Bensonhurst.