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Venezuelan migrant who shot two NYPD cops reveals how he was 'recruited' to America by violent 'moped-riding gang'
The teenage Venezuelan migrant who opened fire on two NYPD cops after they tried to pull him over on his scooter said he was 'recruited' to wreak havoc in America by a violent gang.
Bernardo Raul Castro-Mata, 19, was approached by police early Monday morning as he drove the unregistered motorbike the wrong way down a one-way street in Queens.
The migrant responded by opening fire on the officers with an unlicensed gun, striking one cop in the leg while the other sustained a shot to their bulletproof vest. He then fled the scene on foot at around 1.40am, the NYPD said.
Mata, who illegally entered the US at Eagle Pass, Texas last July, allegedly told police that he is part of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, law enforcement sources told the New York Post.
Bernardo Raul Castro-Mata, 19, the teen who shot two NYPD officers on Monday night in Queens, allegedly told police he is a part of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua
The NYPD officers involved in the shootout were filmed leaving Elmhurst Hospital in the daylight several hours later. One was wheeled out (pictured) as colleagues gave them a standing ovation
The 'coordinator' of the 'snatch and grab' gang is known to provide their members with mopeds that are used in robberies, including stealing cell phones.
The notorious gang has been referred to as 'an invading criminal army' by US lawmakers and a member is suspected of the brutal murder of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley.
Mata is believed to be a member of the gang based on his social media posts and a distinctive tattoo on his arm of a clock attached to an anchor, which is known to be tied to the group, the sources said.
The sources also told the New York Post that Mata first checked into a shelter on Ditmars Boulevard in Queens along with three other people, but he hadn't been living there since May 15.
The 'coordinator' of the 'snatch and grab' gang is known to provide their members with mopeds that are used in robberies. (pictured: Mata's discarded scooter at the scene)
Officers pursued Mata after noticing that he was riding the scooter without a helmet, in the wrong direction, without a license plate, on a crosswalk filled with pedestrians, prosecutors said.
The NYPD said officers chased him for 'several blocks' after he discarded the scooter and jumped on a two-wheeler.
A third officer, Sgt. Nicholas Condos, joined the pursuit as Mata pointed his gun and shot Officers Christopher Abreu and Richard Yarusso, both 26. The gun he used was recovered at the scene.
On Wednesday, law enforcement sources confirmed that the .380-caliber Hi-Point pistol belonged to a woman who purchased the firearm in Raleigh, North Carolina in 2017. She said she did not know it had been stolen.
Another image showed three officers carrying Mata away from the crime scene in East Elmhurst, Queens, by his arms and legs as he screamed
During the violent altercation, the teen was shot in the ankle. He underwent surgery early Monday morning at New York-Presbyterian Queens.
Photographs showed Mata looking shell-shocked as medics took him into an ambulance on a stretcher with his arms handcuffed behind his back.
Another image showed three officers carrying him away by his arms and legs as he screamed. The discarded scooter was also seen amid carnage at the scene.
Mata was arraigned from the hospital on two counts of attempted murder and other charges related to the shooting.
Prior to the incident, police found that Mata is suspected of being involved in multiple grab-and-run scooter robberies across the Big Apple.
The migrant teenager is suspected of being tied to a May 22 robbery in Nassau County that left a female victim injured from a gunshot wound, according to sources.
During the altercation that took place in Hempstead, a female was shot in her arm while she tried to fight off attackers. Mata allegedly told cops that he was involved in the crime.
The source said that police tracked and found the woman's stolen AirPods at the shelter Mata was initially staying with two suspected accomplices.
Law enforcement sources confirmed that the .380-caliber Hi-Point pistol (pictured) that Mata used belonged to a woman in Raleigh, North Carolina. She said she did not know that it had been stolen
Investigators believe that the other suspects might have fled for Texas, according to sources.
Police have not charged the 19-year-old in connection to the suspected robberies.
According to InSight Crime, 'US Federal lawmakers recently asked President Joe Biden to declare Tren de Aragua a transnational criminal organization.'
The lawmakers said that the Venezuelan gang has spread 'brutality and chaos' in the US, referring to it as 'an invading criminal army.'
A recent murder that gained national attention is also believed to be tied to Tren de Aragua.
In February, Laken Riley, an Augusta University nursing student, was beaten to death by Jose Antonia Ibarra, 26, while she was out for a run on the Athens campus.
Hours after Riley was slain, Athens homicide detectives pulled a photo from a surveillance camera of a potential suspect who wore a distinctive Adidas hat, according to a federal affidavit obtained by The Associated Press.
That eventually led them to an off-campus apartment complex where they searched the grounds and a dumpster nearby as they began to piece together details about Ibarra.
Ibarra shared the apartment with his brother Diego Ibarra, who is accused of possessing a fake green card after he handed it to police while they hunted for the suspect.
Federal authorities found that Diego has ties to the Venezuela-based gang after finding photos of him flashing the gang's hand signals online, along with identifying tattoos like stars, clocks, trains, weapons and crowns.
More pictures of him with firearms were found online even though illegal immigrants in the US are not legally allowed to own guns.
Diego entered the country illegally in April 2023 and was arrested five months later with no license or insurance while driving at 80mph in a 40mph zone and drinking a can of Bud Light.
Jose Antonia Ibarra, 26, who beat Laken Riley (pictured) to death in February, is believed to have ties to the Venezuelan gang as well
Jose Ibarra (left), an undocumented immigrant, was indicted by a grand jury in Georgia on May 7. Federal authorities found that his brother, Diego Ibarra (right), has ties to Tren de Aragua
Both brothers were cited on October 27 for allegedly stealing more than $200 from an Athens Walmart.
And Diego allegedly returned to steal more items on December 8, earning himself a two-year ban from the store.
On May 7, Ibarra was indicted on 10 counts by a grand jury in Georgia.
A recent bombshell report indicated that 350,000 migrants who entered the US illegally have had their immigration court cases dismissed, allowing them to go free without a verdict on the merits of their entry.
A top Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) adviser, Kerry Doyle, circulated a memo in 2022 instructing prosecutors to dismiss cases for migrants who are not found to be national security threats, the New York Post first reported.
As a result, that year nearly 103,000 migrants had their cases dismissed - allowing them to walk free into the U.S. without an immigration court judge's verdict on the merits of their asylum claim.
Later in 2023, that number of dismissed cases skyrocketed to 149,000.
So far in fiscal year 2024, 114,00 cases have been terminated without a verdict, according to the report.