Posted on: May 02, 2025 08:25 PM

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Staten Island man sentenced to 15 years in prison for shooting pregnant woman on Brooklyn Queens expressway

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that a Staten Island man has been sentenced to ­­15 years in prison following his guilty plea to attempted murder for firing multiple shots at a taxi traveling along the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, striking a pregnant woman riding in the backseat in the head.

District Attorney Gonzalez said, “This was a terrifying and calculated act of violence carried out in the middle of the day on one of the city’s busiest highways. The defendant showed a complete disregard for human life when he opened fire on a moving vehicle, striking a young pregnant woman and endangering countless others. We will continue to pursue justice for victims and hold accountable those who threaten the safety of our communities.”

The District Attorney identified the defendant as Mark Munoz, 37, of Staten Island. He was sentenced today by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Jane Tully to ­­15 years in prison. The defendant pleaded guilty to second-degree attempted murder on March 3, 2025.

The District Attorney said that, according to the evidence, on June 26, 2023, at approximately 1:30 p.m., the victims, a 21-year-old woman and 30-year-old man, were picked up by a taxi at the corner of 58th Street and Third Avenue in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. The defendant, who had a prior dispute with the male victim earlier that day, followed the cab in a dark blue Jeep onto the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway.

While driving alongside the taxi, the defendant fired multiple shots into the backseat, striking the woman, who was two months pregnant, in the head. Another bullet lodged in the door where the male victim was seated.

The taxi driver immediately drove to NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn, where doctors in the trauma unit were able to save both the woman and her unborn child.

The NYPD, working in coordination with the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, determined that after the shooting, the defendant fled to Staten Island, where he spent several hours at a car wash. He was arrested on Staten Island on May 24, 2024.

From DA