Syracuse police arrested Chavez Ocasio, 23, on Monday, according to the OCDA. Ocasio is charged with second-degree murder, unlawful possession of a weapon and physical evidence. He pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to a ruling.
According to OCDA, Ocasio is being jailed and is being held at the Onondaga County Justice Center. He is expected in court on Friday.
The children were shot in the back of a vehicle at about 18:51 on Sunday, Derek McGork, head of the investigative bureau, said during a press conference on Monday.
According to McGork, two women were driving when shots were fired from a passing car. The women drove away and stopped when they realized the children had been shot, he explained.
“They drove away while being shot at. After realizing the children were injured, she stopped and called 911,” he said.
“She was just a baby,” Seymore told the branch. “She was so strong. She did not even cry when it happened, but we lost her.”
Seymore said Dior would have become 1 on April 29, WSTM reported.
The sad mother said her baby is loving, playful and full of life, according to WSTM.
The two children who were injured were identified as Syracuse police officer Kenton T. Buckner as three-year-old and 8-year-old girls, respectively, and in a stable condition.
“It was babies in the back of this car,” Buckner said. Police did not say whether the two women were injured.
Buckner said he had no information on whether the attack was targeted.
Ocasio was arrested in 2015 for breaking into the second-degree, a Class C crime in New York. Ocasio was released on release in September 2019, according to the New York State Inmate Lookup website.