Police: Victims Ambushed In 3 Separate Mt. Vernon Shootings; Connection Probed
MOUNT VERNON, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Police say they are looking into three separate, but connected, shootings Sunday night that left two people dead and a third critically injured in Mount Vernon.
The shootings on the city's south side were likely a part of a long-running feud -- perhaps going back to childhood -- among a group of 20-year-olds, authorities said on Monday.
"Because of the crime, it seems very personal, so it's not a random crime," Police Commissioner Carl Bell said.
The victims in all three shootings were ambushed, 1010 WINS' Terry Sheridan reported.
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Rahsul Watkins, 21, was shot twice by someone in a passing vehicle while he was riding a dirt bike on 7th Avenue and Sandford Boulevard around 5:20 p.m. He died after being taken to Jacobi Medical Center.
Around 8:50 p.m., Stephon Ramsey, 20, was shot in the leg and head on Cooley Place. He is currently in critical condition at Jacobi.
The third shooting took place around 11:15 p.m., when Cleveland Baxter, 22, was fatally shot while driving in a vehicle on Grandview Avenue. The car then crashed into another vehicle.
"We know, at one point, they were all friends and now we're trying to determine who the combatants are," Bell said.
Police are questioning one 22-year-old man in connection with all of the shootings. He has not been charged with anything.
It is not clear if the shootings were gang-related and no drugs were found.
"It's not like we have people running up and down within the community shooting blindly, these things are happening in desolate blocks where these guys -- they know each other and they know where to find each other," Bell said.
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