Jesús Acosta faces at least five charges in deaths of two men

Jesús Acosta faces at least five criminal charges after authorities connected him to two shootings in Brooklyn and The Bronx that occurred within about 48 hours. The 31-year-old Dominican national was arrested Saturday morning near the 43rd Police Precinct in The Bronx.

Police said an anonymous 911 caller reported seeing Acosta in a park near Watson and Morrison avenues. He was later taken to Bronx Criminal Court, where prosecutors informed him of charges including two counts of murder, two counts of attempted murder and one homicide charge.

The first shooting occurred at America’s Best Wings and Pizza on Rockaway Avenue in Brownsville, Brooklyn, around midnight Sunday. Police said Acosta entered intending to commit a robbery and allegedly shot employee MD Yousuf, 44, in the head. Mohammed Rasel, 39, was shot in the leg and said he pretended to be dead so the gunman would stop firing.

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God is good, God is great.

About 48 hours later, at around 12:15 a.m. Tuesday, an armed man opened fire during another robbery at a grocery store on East 149th Street near Walton Avenue in The Bronx. Tayvon Shuler, 33, a customer, was shot in the chest and later died at Lincoln Medical Center. Surveillance footage showed a gunman shooting Shuler before going behind the counter and taking money from the cash register as customers and employees sought cover.

After leaving the precinct, Acosta did not answer reporters’ questions about the allegations. When asked whether he had committed the acts attributed to him, he said, “God is good, God is great.”

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I pretended to be dead so he would stop shooting at me.