A tourist has been shot in the leg in Times Square when a shoplifter opened fire at a security guard who tried to stop him and his crew.
The gunfire didn’t stop there, as the suspect fired at New York City police while fleeing the area.
Security stopped the shooter and two other teenagers as they left JD Sports Store on West 42nd Street and Broadway about 7.15pm on Thursday.
The guard asked for their receipts and one of the group walked out of the shop empty-handed, but the other two stayed.
The female guard grabbed a shopping bag that contained a coat they were allegedly trying to steal, and approached the other teenager.
Shoppers stand inside JD Sports Store in Times Square in the aftermath of a Brazilian tourist being shot inside the store by shoplifters
Security stopped the shooter and two other teenagers as they left the store and took a shopping bag with a stolen coat – then one of them fired at her and hit a woman shopping inside
Police later released a photo of the suspect tin the shooting. Police said the alleged gunman was last seen wearing a white baseball hat, white coat and white pants
Suddenly, the youth whom she took the coat from pulled a gun from his shoulder strap bag and shot at her.
The shooter missed and hit a 37-year-old Brazilian tourist in the leg, just above the knee, as she was shopping inside the store with a friend.
The tourist limped to a storage room and barricaded herself inside as the security guard left the teenagers and rushed to her aid.
One of the shoplifting trio stayed behind while the other two, including the one who left the store before the shooting, fled.
Cops were shot at as they chased after them, but the shooter missed the cops and there were no other reported injuries.
NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell said the shooter escaped into the 49th Street subway station, with surveillance recording him running on the tracks, then left the subway elsewhere.
‘Our officer draws his weapon but he cannot fire — too many people around, too many people ducking,’ he said.
Cops were shot at as they chased after them, but the shooter missed the cops and there were no other reported injuries
Shocked tourists and passersby stand in Times Square near the site of the shooting
Heavily armed police patrol Times Square with the shooter still at large
Investigators mark a tool believed to have been dropped by the teens as they fled
The pair left a trail of clothes at West 48th Street and Sixth Avenue to West 51st Street and Sixth Avenue as they fled.
Another teenager, a 15-year-old boy, was arrested and police said he told them he was staying at the nearby Stewart Hotel, which is being used as a migrant shelter.
Witnesses tied the victim’s shirt around her leg as makeshift tourniquet as staff and other shoppers huddled in the store’s back room.
The tourist was rushed to Bellevue Hospital in a stable condition and a policeman who ran out of breath while chasing the suspects was taken to New York-Presbyterian.
Police said the alleged gunman was last seen wearing a white baseball hat, white coat and white pants.
‘At this point, we have numerous resources scouring this area looking for that male,’ Chell said.
‘He shot at our cops not once but twice. He also shot an innocent female one time in the leg. That’s where we stand right now.’
Police officers were attacked when they tried to disperse a disorderly group in front of 220 West 42 Street about 8.30pm on January 27
JHoan Boada is released from Manhattan Criminal Court after he was arraigned for allegedly beating up two cops in Times Square with a group of others. He is one of the suspects charged in connection to the Times Square beating
The NYC landmark was the site of other ugly scenes in recent months.
Police officers were attacked when they tried to disperse a disorderly group in front of 220 West 42 Street around 8.30pm on January 27.
According to the NYPD, the migrants then started to attack them, kicking them in the head and body while the two officers tried to pin down one of the men, tearing off his sweatshirt.
The migrants then ran away, leaving the police officers on the ground while they made their getaway east on 42nd Street toward Seventh Avenue.
Darwin Andres Gomez Izquiel, 19, Kelvin Servita Arocha, 19, Wilson Juarez, 21, Yorman Reveron, 24, Jhoan Boada, 22, and Yohenry Brito, 24, were all later arrested.
They were charged with assault on a police officer, gang assault, obstructing governmental administration and disorderly conduct but were released without bail.
On Thursday, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced six additional indictments over the attack, pinpointing the actions of each attacker to explain why he was bringing charges against them.
Up to 14 men are believed to have been involved in the attack, although NYPD officials have repeatedly revised the number of suspects.
Bragg said his office had secured grand jury indictments for a total of seven suspects, including two people who have not yet been arrested.
Only one of the seven indicted suspects is currently in custody – Brito – who police believe was at the center of the assault.
The same group has also been connected to a migrant crime spree that targeted more than 60 women and stealing their phones. One of the thefts involved a woman being dragged by a moped as suspects grabbed her phone.
Seven migrants were arrested by the NYPD after they allegedly went on a crime spree that saw them stealing wallets and phones from at least 62 women across the city’s five boroughs.
Police arrested at least seven migrants, all believed to be from Venezuela, in a safe house in the Bronx after executing a search warrant.
Police believe the gang is led by Venezuelan ringleader Victor Parra, 30, who had a tech guy hack the phones, use the devices to make fraudulent purchases and clear out victim’s bank accounts before sending them to Colombia.
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