In the early morning hours of September 30, 2020, Bertha Arriaga, a 43-year-old mother of three, was in her Jackson Heights, Queens, apartment when her life was tragically cut short. A stray bullet pierced through her third-floor window, striking and killing her. A Mexican immigrant who came to the United States 25 years prior in search of a better life, she had been a resident of the building for 16 years.
Just before 1 a.m., Arriaga was awakened by noise on the street below.
As she looked out her window to see what was happening, a single shot was fired. The bullet struck her in the neck, and she was found by her 14-year-old son. Her husband attempted CPR, but her injury was fatal. Arriaga was not the intended target of the shooting.
The investigation into Arriaga's death quickly focused on two individuals who were seen on surveillance video attempting to steal a motorized scooter on the sidewalk outside her building. As they fled the scene, one of the men fired a shot over his shoulder without aiming. This single, reckless act resulted in the stray bullet that killed Arriaga. A tip from the public helped police identify one of the men in the footage.
On October 3, 2020, police arrested 31-year-old Issam Elabbar of Queens. He was charged with murder, manslaughter, and illegal weapons possession. Elabbar, who had four prior arrests, was not targeting Arriaga. In December 2021, Elabbar pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the second degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree. He was subsequently sentenced to 15 years in prison, to be followed by five years of post-release supervision.
