Harlem Shooter Sentenced To 17 Years In Retaliation Plot: DA

HARLEM, NY - A Brooklyn man who stalked and shot a 23-year-old man in Harlem in 2021 was sentenced to 17 years in state prison Tuesday, authorities said.

Hector Rivera, 38, was charged in a New York State Supreme Court jury indictment in August with attempted murder, criminal possession of a weapon and assault, Manhattan District Attorney Bragg said.

Rivera and the victim, who was not identified by Bragg’s office, knew each other through social media but had “minimal communication” in January 2021, officials said.

In February 2021, Rivera texted friends he had been assaulted and had to receive stitches for a split lip at the hospital, officials said. He grew “increasingly” upset the same day and began taking screenshots of the victim’s social media accounts to track him down, believing the victim was responsible for the assault.

He also plotted to obtain a gun for the apparent retaliation, officials said.

The victim was hanging out in Harlem on April 17, 2021, when Rivera followed him around for over 10 minutes while carrying a loaded gun, officials said.

At about 6:30 p.m. near West 133rd Street and Lenox Avenue, the victim tried to hail a cab when, from behind the hood of a parked car, Rivera fired three shots at the victim.

The victim was hit in his upper right shoulder — which reportedly went through his chest — and lower back, fracturing his spine and injuring his bowels. He received two major surgeries and spent several weeks hospitalized.

Rivera fled the scene and was arrested nearly two months later in Brooklyn, wearing the same sneakers from the shooting.

“This prison sentence is commensurate with the devastating injuries Hector Rivera inflicted on a Harlemite,” Bragg said. “As a jury of his peers found in this all-count conviction, he plotted for more than two months before executing his attack. I hope today’s sentencing can bring some peace to the victim.”