Gunman nabbed for East Harlem street execution was seeking payback for earlier murder in gang feud: NYPD

An accused gunman nabbed for an East Harlem street execution was seeking payback for an earlier murder in an ongoing neighborhood gang feud, police said Wednesday.

Trevor Gibbs was arrested Tuesday for the fatal shooting of 26-year-old Hector Delgado near E. 123rd St. and Lexington Ave. on the afternoon of April 11. The victim was blasted in the head as terrified passersby ran for cover.

Gibbs, 23, is charged with murder and weapon possession. He has four prior arrests, for gang assault, gambling, conspiracy and obstructing governmental administration, police said.

When he allegedly shot Delgado, Gibbs was after revenge for the point-blank murder of 19-year-old Jaylen Duncan just three days earlier, cops said. The Delgado murder also has a link to the drug trade, according to police.

On the day Gibbs allegedly sought his revenge, Messiah Nantwi, 21, was busted for gunning down Duncan on the afternoon of April 8 at Madison Ave. and E. 132nd St. — and for a fatal caught-on-camera point-blank shooting in a smoke shop the following night.

Gibbs held Nantwi’s OTN Goodfellas gang responsible for Duncan’s killing and so targeted Delgado, who also belongs to that gang, according to cops.

Duncan, who was shot in the head and died at Harlem Hospital, “was always mannerly, never disrespectful,” a neighbor said after his slaying, recalling how she wished the victim a happy 19th birthday earlier in the month.

“He’d say good morning, he’d always hold the door for me,” she added. “When I heard about it, my heart really jumped.”

One day after Duncan’s murder, Nantwi callously pulled a gun and shot Brandon Brunson, 36, in the neck while arguing with him inside the Smoke Shop on Malcolm X. Blvd. near W. 125th St., police said.

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The killer stood over the dying man to fire one last shot before fleeing, surveillance video obtained by the Daily News showed.

Nantwi, at the time of his arrest, was free on $300,000 bail for a February 2021 incident where he was charged with attempted murder of a police officer for allegedly shooting at Bronx cops who confronted him and a sidekick for spraying graffiti on a wall on Elton Ave. near E. 153rd St.