NYPD hunting for young migrant in brazen Times Square shooting that injured tourist in chaotic scene
The NYPD is hunting down the young gunman — who police sources say is believed to be a migrant — suspected of shooting an innocent tourist and firing at a cop during a botched robbery in Times Square.
A reward of up to $10,000 is being offered for anyone with information leading to the suspect, a man between the ages of 15 and 20 who was wearing an all-white outfit during Thursday night’s chaos at the Crossroads of the World, the NYPD posted on X.
The suspected shooters and two others — also believed to be in their early to late teens — were spotted bagging up loot, possibly sneakers, on the second floor of the JD Sports store at West 42nd Street and Seventh Avenue around 7 p.m., NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell said at a news conference Thursday.
A female security guard stopped two of the bandits in the lobby area, where she was able to yank a bag of stolen goods from the suspect wearing all white — who pulled out a gun and fired in her direction, Chell said.
The bullet missed the security guard, but struck a 37-year-old woman visiting from Brazil who was inside the store.
The gunman and the blue jacket-wearing teen who was with him in the lobby bolted from the store, while the third youngster, police and sources said.
Cops patrolling the area near West 46th Street and Seventh Avenue gave chase and quickly captured one of the runners, who sources said is a 15-year-old being housed at the Stewart Hotel in Midtown, which has been turned into a migrant shelter.
The gunman, meanwhile, ran down West 47th Street towards Sixth Avenue and fired off two shots at a pursuing officer, according to Chell.
The cop was not hit and did not return fire.
“Our officer draws his weapon but he cannot fire — too many people around, too many people ducking,” Chell said.
The shooter then ducked into the subway on West 46th Street and Sixth Avenue, where he ditched his white jacket and made his escape.
“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.”
According to a 911 call, the tourist was shot just above her left knee and barricaded herself inside a storage room.
The security guard rushed to the woman’s aid, sources said, and she was taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition. She had been released by Friday.
Sources said Friday that the 15-year-old and the third person who had stayed behind were taken into custody and then released — with the gunman still on the loose.
JD Sports workers who were not at the scene of the shooting Thursday night expressed shock as they arrived early Friday morning.
“No people come in trying to steal,” one told The Post. “You have a little scuffle here and there, but nothing like this.”
But another admitted there has been an increase in shoplifting in the well-known tourist area.
Law enforcement officers are now concerned shoplifting incidents may increase as more and more migrants seek shelter in the Big Apple.
“You are seeing gang adjacent hierarchical structures take place,” one senior officer told The Post of the situation at city shelters.
The official went on to call the shooting of an officer “very disconcerting” and said he hopes the armed shoplifting is just “an aberration.”
“But [it] could be part of something bigger,” he said. “That concerns us.”
“Are the guns are an aberration? – is it the next stage in an evolution – we don’t know.”