Man arrested in triple murder near Columbia University (VIDEO)

GlobalPost

A man has been arrested in the shooting deaths of three men who were killed while sitting in a parked car near Columbia University's campus in New York City.

According to the Associated Press, the suspect, who police said won't be named until charges are filed, was arrested Saturday in the Bronx. Police said they have recovered the gun used in the June 7 killings and that they have found DNA on a shirt discarded near the crime scene linking the suspect to the shootings.

Gothamist, however, reported that the suspect is 30-year-old Roberto Nunez and that he was arrested around 8 a.m. as he was walking into his brother's home near Yankee Stadium.

The New York Post also reported that Nunez is a convicted felon who has served time for robbery and other crimes. The paper also said that since the shootings, Nunez had been staying with a friend, who notice he was hiding a gun. The friend then sold the .38-caliber revolver to an undercover police officer, who tested the weapon and discovered it matched the shell casings found in the victims.

More from GlobalPost: Sheherazad Jaafari: Columbia accepts Assad aide

The three victims — Luis Catalan, 25; Heriberto Suazo, 26; and Amaury Rodriguez, 30 — were found dead in their BMW outside the Manhattan School of Music across the street from Columbia University's Knox Hall, according to Fox NY. They were said to be Manhattan residents and marijuana traffickers with extensive criminal records. Police believe their deaths may have been retaliation killings for robbing rival drug dealers.

According to ABC 7 NY, video near the crime scene shows images of the suspect walking away from the car where the three men were killed. There is also video of the suspect several blocks away discarding a shirt he had been wearing.

Will you support The World? 

The story you just read is accessible and free to all because thousands of listeners and readers contribute to our nonprofit newsroom. We go deep to bring you the human-centered international reporting that you know you can trust. To do this work and to do it well, we rely on the support of our listeners. If you appreciated our coverage this year, if there was a story that made you pause or a song that moved you, would you consider making a gift to sustain our work through 2024 and beyond?