The gunman who fatally shot 7-month-old Kaori Patterson-Moore as she sat in her stroller on a Brooklyn street corner told cops he was aiming for the victim’s father in retaliation for another shooting a day earlier, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said Tuesday.
Accused shooter Amuri Greene, 21, admitted under questioning to firing the shot that struck baby Kaori in the head and wounded her 2-year-old brother as he sat beside her in a stroller on April 1, Kenny said.
But Greene said he was aiming for the children’s 22-year-old dad, whom he claimed had opened fire on him at the Marcy Houses a day earlier.
Kenny said while images posted to social media show the children’s father flashing gang signs — including an “M” for the Money Over Everything crew — police have found no indication the earlier shooting Greene alleged “even took place.”
Prior to the baby girl’s killing, video shows Greene and his accomplice, 18-year-old Mathew Rodriguez, riding a scooter around the Bushwick Houses in search of their target, cops said.
“It’s obvious they’re hunting for somebody,” said Kenny.
After striking the children from the back of the scooter, Greene and Rodriguez fled the scene only to crash about three blocks away, the impact sending both men flying from their getaway vehicle.
The pair managed to get back on the scooter and ride off, but Greene broke his leg in the crash and needed medical attention. He was arrested at an area hospital a few hours later.
His accomplice fled to Monroe County, Pa., where he was arrested two days after the shooting. Both men have been indicted for murder, attempted murder and several other charges.
Greene told cops after his arrest that he was gunning for Kaori’s father, but Brooklyn D.A. Eric Gonzalez has backed away from that motive, telling reporters he wouldn’t definitively call her dad the target.
Kenny on April 2 confirmed the theory that Kaori’s dad was the target. The dad, Kenny said, has links to members of the Money Over Everything gang in the Bushwick Houses. The gang, known as MOE, is in the middle of an ongoing dispute with a crew Greene is associated with from the Marcy Houses, Kenny said at the time.
“We’re still looking into that,” Kenny said about the motive. “We know that he [Kaori’s dad] does have an association with some other (Money Over Everything) gang members. He is not in our criminal group database as an MOE member but based on the geography and where he was at the time, we are looking into that.”
Gardiner Anderson / New York Daily News
Police secure the scene of an abandoned scooter on Warsoff Place near Park Ave. in Brooklyn, New York on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, after Kaori Patterson-Moore, a 7-month-old girl, was shot approximately one mile away on Humboldt St. and Moore St. (Gardiner Anderson / New York Daily News)
The D.A. has offered theories about Greene’s motive, which may have involved a gang rivalry and drill rap lyrics, are contuning to evolve.
The duo are being held without bail until their next court appearance.