The NYPD has released surveillance images of three suspects wanted in a double murder in Queens.
Victims Xavier Roberts, 22, and Jaheim Hamilton, 21, were walking down Steinway St. when a gunman opened fire at them as they reached Astoria Blvd. about 10:30 p.m. Friday, cops said. At least 14 shots were fired.
Roberts was struck in the stomach and legs while Hamilton was shot in the torso. Medics rushed them to Elmhurst Hospital but neither could be saved.
The suspects drove off in a red jJeep Grand Cherokee with a red-and-black hood. They were last seen heading east on the Grand Central Parkway.
Cops released surveillance footage of the suspects and their getaway vehicle Monday and asked the public’s help identifying them and tracking them down.
Roberts’ brother told police that the shooter came up from behind and that he didn’t get a good look at him.
“I was there,” Roberts’ brother told the Daily News at the family’s home in the Fordham section of the Bronx. His grief-stricken mother was in the apartment, weeping hysterically.
“My brother was a role model. My brother was a hero,” he said. “Any enemies he had was through envy. He had a heart that was sometimes bigger than the world we live in.”
While police believe the two men were the intended targets no motive has been established.
Roberts didn’t have a criminal record but was wanted for questioning in two shootings from 2019 and 2020, according to a police source. Hamilton had been arrested once for a minor crime.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.