Two men have been arrested for the shooting of Devon Simmons, an ex-convict who was shot 15 minutes after being released, according to New York's Pix11.
Shortly after being released, Simmons got into a car unbeknownst to him that another ex-convict with a gun and a grudge was hiding in the trunk, state police said on Friday, The Associated Press reported.
Simmons, 33, had intended to catch a train from the prison in Otisville, New York, back home to New York City on Thursday morning after getting out on parole, Pix11 reported.
Simmons then decided to accept a ride from a man in a car with Illinois license plates, Pierce Gallagher, a state police captain, said, New York Daily News reported.
"He ends up jumping in the car, believing it was sent by relatives," Gallagher said, the AP reported. In the trunk hid Jerome Mack, who knew Simmons from a different prison. Before 15 minutes had elapsed, Mack emerged and shot Simmons, Gallagher said added.
"The motive at this time appears to be prior bad blood between Simmons and Mack from when the two of them were jointly held at another state correctional facility a couple of years prior," Gallagher said at a televised news conference, according to the AP.
Simmons, who had been sentenced for assault, sale of a controlled substance and criminal possession of a weapon, was able to stumble to a nearby train station, where people came to his aid and called the police, Pix11 reported. He was hospitalized and is recovering from his injuries.
Police arrested the suspected driver, Edgar Wilson, and Mack, both 35, at their apartments in New York City on Thursday morning, according to Pix11. They were charged with attempted murder and criminal possession of a weapon, and are being held in jail without bail.
