Gunman riding scooter in Queens kills 1 person and injures 3 others in back-to-back shootings, New York police say

One person died and three others were wounded Saturday in a string of shootings in Brooklyn and Queens that New York police described as "random" in nature.

A gunman riding a scooter opened fire at five different locations in Jamaica, a neighborhood in the Queens borough, and in Brooklyn, according to the New York Police Department.

A 25-year-old man was taken into custody and found with a 9mm pistol with an extended magazine, police said during a news conference Saturday afternoon. Authorities say they have not found a serial number on the gun and are investigating whether the firearm was defaced or might be a ghost gun.

"We don't know the motive. It seems that this is actually random," said Joseph Kenny, the assistant chief in the NYPD's Detective Bureau. "At this time, video shows that he's not targeting anybody, he's not following anybody. As he's driving on his scooter, he's randomly shooting people."

Police said all four victims were men.

The five shootings unfolded over about a half an hour and began around 11:10 a.m. in Brooklyn, Kenny said at the news conference. A 21-year-old man was shot once in the left shoulder, he said.

He was transported to a hospital and is expected to survive. Authorities found a 9-millimeter shell casing at the scene, Kenny said.

After the first shooting, detectives accessed video that showed the suspect approaching the victim from behind on a scooter and firing one shot, police said.

Seventeen minutes later - at 11:27 a.m. - police say the same suspect fired a gun at an 87-year-old man in Queens.

The victim, who was shot once in the back, died after being taken to a hospital, Kenny said.

When officers arrived at the scene, they learned of another shooting incident in which no one was struck by gunfire. But numerous witnesses reported seeing a man riding a scooter "randomly firing at a group of people," Kenny said.

The fourth shooting happened at 11:35 a.m. when a 44-year-old man was shot in the cheek, Kenny said. The man was hospitalized and is in critical condition.

Less than a minute later, the suspect shot a 63-year-old man in his right shoulder, Kenny said. The victim was hospitalized and is in stable condition, police said.