Police have arrested a 15-year-old wanna-be Times Square shoplifter who shot a tourist and fired at police officers while he ran away.
The boy was said to be in tears when he was taken away in handcuffs, WABC reported.
The 37-year-old victim was hit in the leg when the boy allegedly shot at a security officer who stopped him to take away a bag he’d stuffed with items from the JD Sports store Thursday night, as CrimeOnline reported.
The shooter and another 15-year-old fled the store and were spotted at 47th Street and 7th Avenue by police, who took one of them into custody. The gunman took off toward 6th Avenue and cut between two buildings, firing twice at the officer pursuing him and eventually disappeared into a subway station.
“We literally spoke to hundreds of individuals,” said NYPD Asst. Chief of Detectives Bureau Jason Savino. “We obtained what can be described as pristine photos of our subjects. Now those photos ultimately lead to the identification of our shooter.”
Savino said the boy, an immigrant from Venezuela, will likely be charged with attempted murder of a police officer. The other 15-year-old and a third boy, 16 — who was also involved in the shoplifting — were both detained but have not been charged.
Police said the gunman is a suspect in a January 27 armed robbery in the Bronx and a shots fired incident near Central Park. Investigators are checking to see if the shell casings match those from Thursday’s gunfire.
The victim spoke with WABC on Friday and said the sound of the gunshot was so loud she temporarily lost her hearing.
“I felt a pain in my body, but I didn’t know where it was coming from,” she said. “I started feeling my body to figure out where I was hit and I realized my leg was bleeding under my pants.”
The woman said she came from Brazil, which she considers a dangerous place.
“I always felt safe to walk around here in New York, now I’m a little scared,” she said. “You don’t expect this to happen here.”
NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell, however, said that the area is, on the whole, safe. “Look around you,” he said.
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[Featured image: New York Police Department]
