Suspected gunman in custody after fatal shootings in Brooklyn and Manhattan, extensive manhunt

Oliver has 12 prior arrests, including for criminal possession of a weapon, robbery, menacing and various other charges.

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Wednesday, December 7, 2022
Suspect in string of shootings surrenders after extensive manhunt
Sundance Oliver surrendered to NYPD officers after a deadly rampage across New York City that led to an extensive manhunt. Sonia Rincon spoke to a family member of one of the victims.

CROWN HEIGHTS, Brooklyn (WABC) -- A violent three-day rampage across New York City which included two deadly shootings and led to an extensive manhunt finally came to an end Tuesday as the suspect surrendered to police.

Sundance Oliver turned himself in at the NYPD's 77th Precinct shortly after 7 a.m.

Police held a news briefing after Sundance Oliver, a suspect in a string of shootings, surrendered following an extensive manhunt.

At a briefing Tuesday afternoon, police laid out the numerous violent incidents involving the 28-year-old dating back more than two weeks.

In that time, police say Oliver participated in a robbery, punched his girlfriend in the face, and was the target of a shooting.

According to investigators, Oliver pointed a gun at another person on Sunday at around 8 p.m. outside of a bodega on Ralph Avenue in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.

When the victim ran inside the store, police say Oliver fired two gunshots before entering the store and stealing more than $3,500.

The next morning, authorities say he approached a woman in the rear of a building on Kingsborough 1st Walk and demanded $50 from her.

When she ran off, police say he fired a shot that missed the woman, but struck 96-year-old Sandy Dewalt, who was seated in a wheelchair nearby waiting for a bus.

"It went boom, and I heard the noise and felt the hurt at the same time," Dewalt said. "And I looked down and my leg was bleeding."

Dewalt was treated at the hospital.

Later Monday, around 2:40 p.m., police say Oliver was inside of an apartment in the Smith Houses on St. James Place in Manhattan when he shot and killed 21-year-old Kevon Langston.

And then just after midnight on Kingsborough 7th Walk in Brooklyn, investigators say Oliver shot and killed 17-year-old Keyaira Rattray.

That shooting sparked an extensive manhunt and a large-scale Level 3 mobilization by the NYPD.

Oliver ultimately turned himself in to police, but did not hand over the murder weapon.

Investigators say Oliver knew Langston and Rattray, but a motive for their killings was not yet known.

On Tuesday night, people who loved Rattray remembered her beautiful singing voice.

"She was so full of life. She could sing like she was going somewhere," Rattray's godmother Carlene Pearsall said. "Everybody loved her. Everybody. Why would he take my baby? She didn't do anything to him."

Police say Oliver is a suspected gang member with a long criminal history, and was paroled from state prison two years ago.

Oliver is facing several charges including murder, attempted murder, robbery, assault, menacing, and reckless endangerment.

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