Search for carjacking suspect after Verrazano-Narrows Bridge toll plaza shooting

NEW YORK (WABC) -- Police are searching for a suspect they say carjacked a Hummer that was eventually shot upon by police approaching the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge toll plaza on Staten Island Monday.

Now, they are investigating if the suspect may be linked to a murder that took place over the weekend.

Authorities identified the wanted man as Tyree Brown, who allegedly carjacked a 2006 Hummer on Holland Avenue in the Howland Hook section just after 6 a.m. Sunday. Detectives are looking into a possible connection between that and a homicide on Arlington Place, which is just a few blocks away from Holland Avenue, about an hour earlier. Devon Powell, 23, was pronounced dead at the scene.

In the carjacking, police say Brown forced the 29-year-old owner of the Hummer to lie on the ground before demanding money and taking off with the vehicle.

MTA Bridge and Tunnel officers were on the lookout for the vehicle after getting a hit on a license plate reader at the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel.

The officers spotted the Hummer Monday morning and fired four shots after the driver refused to stop at the Staten Island-bound toll plaza around 1:15 a.m.

Authorities say a 24-year-old Staten Island woman jumped out of the vehicle and yelled "don't shoot" as she ran from the vehicle. She was taken into custody at the toll plaza.

Meanwhile, the driver fled the scene, striking another vehicle while peeling away. A passenger of that vehicle sustained minor injuries and was transported to Staten Island University Hospital. The officers were treated for trauma.

The Hummer came to a stop at Narrow Road North and Stuben Street, and Brown fled on foot.

It is not known if Brown was involved in both the homicide and the carjacking, but that is being investigated.

Brown has 21 prior arrests, including robberies, possession of firearms, drug sales and criminal arson.

Brown is described as a 25-year-old black male, approximately 5-foot-8 and 150 pounds with black hair, brown eyes and "Dorothea" tattooed on his neck. He was last seen wearing a red hooded jacket and tan pants.