Feds Indict Convicted Felon in Kelly Playground Shooting

The convicted felon accused of firing ten shots in Kelly Playground in Chelsea on Jan. 14 has been indicted. The announcement of the charges against Michael Zayas was made by United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), Michael Alfonso, and the NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch.

“As alleged, Michael Zayas brazenly and unlawfully carried a firearm into a residential neighborhood—across the street from a playground where children were playing, and just down the street from a middle school—and fired it in the air 10 times,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “Zayas’s alleged conduct sowed fear and panic among New York residents and visitors, including hundreds of children at the middle school, which was put into lockdown when the gunfire erupted. Our career prosecutors and dedicated partners will continue to act to bring to justice those who commit gun crimes and ensure that our playgrounds, schools, and streets are safe from threat. That’s what New Yorkers want, and we hear them.”

“This brazen, broad-daylight shooting—mere steps from a school and a playground and allegedly at the hands of a convicted felon—endangered innocent lives and disrupted the safety of our community,” said HSI Acting Special Agent in Charge Michael Alfonso. Zayas’ swift identification and arrest is a testament to the outstanding collaboration between HSI New York, the NYPD, and our federal law enforcement partners. HSI New York remains steadfast in our commitment to pursuing violent offenders and protecting the public from senseless acts.”

According to the allegations contained in the Complaint and statements made in public court proceedings:

On or about Jan. 14, at approximately 2:42 p.m., a masked shooter fired approximately 10 rounds near the Kelly Playground at the corner of 17th Street and 8th Avenue in Manhattan before fleeing the scene, causing at least one nearby school to be placed on lockdown. Law enforcement officers recovered 10 9-millimeter cartridges from the scene and later identified the shooter as Zayas, a convicted felon.

Kelly Playground is named for Dr. Gertrude B. Kelly (1862-1934), one of the first women doctors in the United States. A graudate ofthe Women’s Medical College of the New York Infirmary for Women and Children, Kelly later, ran a surgical clinic for the poor. She was also supporter of the Irish Republican movement and women’s suffrage. The playground was named for Kelly by Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia on May 16, 1936.

Images released by SDNY show Zayas, minutes prior to the shooting (approximately 2:37 p.m.), entering the elevator on a particular floor in a Chelsea apartment building located approximately two blocks away from the scene of the shooting, then masked and fleeing westbound on 17th Street toward 9th Avenue after the shooting.

Zayas, 49, of Brooklyn, New York, is charged with one count of possession of ammunition after felony conviction, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.