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.