Accused Q train killer Andrew Abdullah indicted for murder of Goldman Sachs employee
The deranged gunman accused of randomly killing a Goldman Sachs employee on a Manhattan subway train was arraigned on a murder indictment Wednesday, even as his lawyer claims prosecutors have no proof.
Andrew Abdullah, 25, was indicted on second-degree murder in the May 22 shooting death of Daniel Enriquez aboard a Manhattan-bound Q train, police said.
He was ordered held without bail pending a return court appearance on July 13.
Abdullah, wearing an orange jail jumpsuit and with his hands cuffed behind his back, pleaded not guilty to the charges in a soft voice before Manhattan Judge Gregory Carro.
“My relationship with him so far, he’s a very soft-spoken man,” defense lawyer Kristin Bruan told reporters outside the courthouse.
“It’s curious to me that we have five people that can’t identify him despite being on the train, and the district attorney has not given me a shred of evidence,” Bruan said, adding that her client needs “medical and psychiatric attention, and it’s not being fulfilled.”
“I personally witnessed five people in lineups and no identity,” she said. “Personally, the hardest part is the public assuming guilt because the police said that they got him.”
Witnesses told police that Abdullah was pacing back and forth in the last car of the train around 11:42 a.m. when he suddenly pulled a gun and opened fire as the subway crossed over the Manhattan Bridge.
Enriquez, 48, was on his way to meet friends for Sunday brunch when he was gunned down in the unprovoked attack.
Police said the killer then got off the train at Canal Street and fled.
In a bizarre twist, cops said Abdullah allegedly handed off the Luger 9 mm handgun to a homeless man as he ran from the station — who sold it to another vagrant.
The second homeless man turned the weapon into police.
Enriquez’s partner, Adam Pollack, said the slain straphanger had only recently begun taking the subway to work and weekly outings with friends after Uber raised its fees.
Abdullah was arrested three days later outside the Manhattan offices of the Legal Aid Society after he tried unsuccessfully to surrender to Mayor Eric Adams through a controversial minister.
“Daniel Enriquez’s vibrant life was brutally cut short in a flash of violence that shocked our city,” Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement Wednesday.
“My heart goes out to Mr. Enriquez’s loved ones as they continue to mourn the death of a cherished son, brother, partner and so much more,” Bragg said. “I want to assure them, and all New Yorkers, that we will stop at nothing to ensure accountability for this terrible crime, and make sure our subways are safe for all.”
Abdullah was arraigned on murder charges after his arrest, with the case later presented to a grand jury, which voted to indict him on the charges.
Additional reporting by Valentina Jaramillo
