A 16-year-old surrendered himself to police on Wednesday after a shooting in New York’s Times Square, in which a stray bullet injured a 21-year-old Marine, authorities said, according to local reports.
The teen, accompanied by his mother, presented to the Midtown South Precinct station house where he turned himself in.
He was charged with attempted murder, as well as assault, reckless endangerment, and criminal possession of a weapon, reported the New York Daily News. According to the outlet, the teen has three prior felony arrests, with one being a gun possession charge.
The NYPD will not be identifying the suspect because of his age, reported Spectrum News.
The shooting occurred on June 27 near the Marriott Hotel, after an argument broke out between rival breakdancers. Police said one of the men then pulled out a gun and started firing.
One bullet, which had ricocheted off the ground, hit the back of innocent bystander Samuel Poulin, a newly-commissioned Marine Corps officer from upstate New York who was visiting the city with his wife and family.
WANTED for an Assault: On Sunday June 27, 2021 at approx. 5:15 P.M., in the vicinity of West 47st. and 7th Ave. @NYPDMTS a unknown individual shot a 21 year old innocent bystander causing serious injury Call @ 800-577-TIPS or DM NYPDTips Reward up to $3500 pic.twitter.com/j199kR3iYj
— NYPD Crime Stoppers (@NYPDTips) June 28, 2021
Video released by the New York Police Department on June 28 showed the alleged gunman.
Video obtained by PIX11 showed that Poulin was able to stand up after being shot, before he was taken to hospital in an ambulance. The outlet reported, citing police sources, that Poulin’s brother-in-law removed the bullet on the scene.
Poulin was released from hospital later in the day, the New York Post reported, citing an unnamed NYPD official.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on June 28 that at least 50 additional police officers had been deployed in Times Square in an effort to deter further shootings. The effort includes uniformed and undercover officers. The area already had a heavy police presence.
The move was in response to the June 27 shooting as well as another separate shooting that took place within the same block on May 8, when a 4-year-old girl and two other adults were hit by stray bullets to their legs.
A suspect, 31-year-old Farrakhan Muhammad, was arrested in Florida and extradited to New York where he faces charges of attempted murder, assault, criminal use of a firearm, and reckless endangerment.
Recent data released by the NYPD for the month of June showed that the department made 361 gun-related arrests—a 99.4 percent increase compared with the same period last year. There was a decrease in shooting incidents, at 165 compared to 205 last year, representing a 19.5 percent decrease.
