Three people, including an innocent 65-year-old man, were hospitalized early Saturday after a teen triggerman blasted away at a rival in Times Square, officials said.
NYPD officers monitoring the Crossroads of the World who heard the shots raced over and apprehended the suspected shooter, a 17-year-old boy, following the 1:20 a.m. shooting at the corner of W. 44th St. and Eighth Ave.
Charges against the suspect were pending Saturday.
Before the bloodshed began, the teen got into an argument with a 19-year-old man he was walking through Times Square with, a law enforcement source with knowledge of the case said.
The two and several others had tried to get into the Raising Cane’s
inside a restaurant near the corner, a police source with knowledge of the case said.
The argument continued outside the eatery, where the 17-year-old pulled a gun and started firing, hitting the older teen in the foot, police said.
Bullets also hit an 18-year-old woman, grazing her neck, and a 65-year-old man standing nearby, who was hit in the left flank, cops said.
The two other victims weren’t involved in the fight and are considered innocent bystanders, the police source said.
It was not immediately clear if any of the victims were together when the shooting started.
EMS took all three to Bellevue Hospital, where they were treated for minor injuries.
The shooter’s firearm was recovered at the scene, cops said.
Videos on X show panicked people running past the Hard Rock Café after the shooting occurred.
Dozens of cops responded to the scene and zeroed in on a gray SUV with commercial license plates. Officers were recorded escorting two women from the back of the vehicle. One of the women looks upset, while the other holds a small cardboard tray with drinks from Starbucks.
The vehicle remained at the scene, its doors opened, for several hours as cops cordoned off the area.
The 19-year-old victim, wearing a du-rag, was recorded being taken to an awaiting ambulance. His left foot and ankle was bandaged.
As the street was cleared, cops flagged evidence with red cones by the famed Times Square restaurant Carmine’s.
Saturday’s bloodshed comes as the NYPD celebrates a 23% drop in shootings this year from 649 to 500 as of last Sunday, cops said. Homicides were also down by 25%, from 241 this time last year to 179, according to NYPD statistics.
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