NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — A 37-year-old man was sentenced to 15 years in prison for shooting a pregnant woman riding in a taxi on the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez announced Thursday.
Mark Munoz, a Staten Island resident, pleaded guilty to attempted murder on March 3.
According to the evidence, at approximately 1:30 p.m. on June 26, 2023, a 21-year-old woman and 30-year-old man were picked up by a taxi at the corner of 58th Street and Third Avenue in Sunset Park.
Munoz had a prior dispute with the male victim earlier that day and followed the cab in a dark blue Jeep onto the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway.
While driving alongside the taxi, Munoz fired multiple shots into the backseat, striking the woman, who was two months pregnant, in the head. Another bullet lodged in the door where the male victim was seated, officials said.
The taxi driver immediately drove to NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn, where doctors in the trauma unit were able to save both the woman and her unborn child.
Munoz was arrested on Staten Island on May 24, 2024.
"This was a terrifying and calculated act of violence carried out in the middle of the day on one of the city’s busiest highways," D.A. Gonzalez said. "The defendant showed a complete disregard for human life when he opened fire on a moving vehicle, striking a young pregnant woman and endangering countless others."
We will continue to pursue justice for victims and hold accountable those who threaten the safety of our communities.”