A 19-year-old man has been arrested and charged with murder for the fatal shooting of a 37-year-old woman in Woodside last month.
Dajuan Williams was charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon by Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz after he allegedly fired the shot that struck and killed Gudelia Vallinas on Friday, March 12, near the corner of 48th Street and Broadway, police said.
Vallinas’ death sparked outrage throughout the borough and renewed call for curbing gun violence in the city.
“This is just the latest in the disturbing rise of shootings in our borough,” Queens Borough President Donovan Richards said a few days after the shooting. “Law enforcement must work hand in hand with our communities in order to make our neighborhoods safer, and to make this a reality, we need an expansion of the crisis management system.”
On March 12, around 8:15 p.m., police officers from the 114th Precinct got a call about shots fired, cops said.
Video of the incident later showed two individuals firing shots west on Broadway before running away. Williams and the other shooter, who remains unapprehended, were allegedly firing at rival gang members and got off at least five shots, Katz said.
Police arrived to find Vallinas, a mother of two young children, unconscious and unresponsive with a gunshot wound to her head, according to the NYPD.
Vallinas was taken to NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst, where she was pronounced dead.
Police did not confirm to QNS when or how Williams, who also lives in Woodside, was taken into custody.
Williams was remanded by Queens Criminal Court Judge Jeffrey Gershuny and was ordered to return to court on April 6.
If convicted, Williams faces up to 25-years-to-life in prison.
The investigation is ongoing.
