NEW YORK - A Bronx man has been convicted of shooting up a Queens bus when he opened fire on a man he thought looked at him the wrong way.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced that Melvin Adams was convicted of attempted murder for shooting at an MTA bus and striking two passengers in August 2021. Adams did not like how someone looked at him and shot at him, hitting the bus instead.
“No one should have to worry about being shot at when riding the bus,” Katz said. “The jury convicted this defendant for recklessly firing his gun on a busy thoroughfare and he will have to pay for what he did.”
Adams, 45, of Barnes Avenue, in the Bronx, was convicted by a jury in Queens Supreme Court of attempted murder in the second degree, assault in the first and second degree, criminal possession of a weapon in the second and third degree and reckless endangerment in the first degree.
The defendant faces a possible sentence of 25 years in prison by Queens Supreme Court Justice Gary Miret on April 21, 2023.
According to the charges: On August 5, 2021, at approximately 8:55 a.m., Adams walked past a 25-year-old pedestrian whom he did not know on Jamaica Avenue near 148th Street. Believing the pedestrian had looked at him, Adams approached the pedestrian, pulled out an illegal .40 caliber pistol from his backpack and fired three shots at the back of the pedestrian victim. Adams missed his intended target, instead shooting through the windshield of an MTA Q8 bus that was stopped nearby.
A bullet pierced the bus windshield, grazing a 66-year-old passenger, causing him physical injuries.
A second passenger on the bus, 20 years old, was struck by the same bullet in his arm, shattering his humorous bone, causing excruciating pain and serious physical injury.
Both victims were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
The 66-year-old sustained a laceration to his shoulder and shards of glass were removed from his body. The 20-year-old required reconstructive orthopedic surgery to remove bullet fragments and repair his arm with a 10-inch metal plate and screws.
A police officer witnessed the shooting and reported the incident. Adams was arrested a block from the scene within minutes of the shooting in possession of a backpack containing the loaded .40 caliber Smith & Wesson handgun used in the shooting.
The handgun was loaded with one round in the chamber and 11 rounds of ammunition in an unlawful high-capacity magazine. A second illegal high-capacity magazine with an additional 15 rounds of ammunition was also recovered from the backpack.
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