Suspect identified in Times Square shooting that left 4-year-old, two others injured
The man suspected of a shooting in New York City's Times Square that injured three bystanders, including a 4-year-old girl, has been identified but is still on the run, police said Monday.
Farrakhan Muhammad was identified by two senior New York City Police Department officials as the person of interest in the Saturday afternoon shooting on West 45th Street and 7th Avenue, NBC New York reported. The officials said detectives think Muhammad was trying to shoot his brother but missed, hitting the pedestrians in the busy tourist hub.
Police on Saturday released a video of the person of interest.
WANTED in connection to shooting three people near West 44th Street and 7th Avenue in Manhattan on May 8, 2021. @NYPDDetectives need anyone with information about the identity or whereabouts of this individual to contact @NYPDTips at #800577TIPS. All calls are anonymous. pic.twitter.com/qciBGCR6AK
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) May 9, 2021
The girl, identified as Skye Martinez, was shopping for toys with her family when she was struck in the leg, police said.
Wendy Magrinat, 23, was struck in a thigh, and Mạrcela Aldana, 43, was hit in a foot, they said.
Magrinat, a Rhode Island resident who was on a Mother’s Day trip to New York City, told NBC New York that doctors told her she will likely have a bullet lodged in her leg for the rest of her life because more damage would be done if it was removed.
None of the victims' injuries were life-threatening, but Skye had to undergo surgery, authorities said.
The NYPD on Monday posted video of an officer, identified as Alyssa Vogel, putting a tourniquet on the little girl, then picking her up and rushing toward an ambulance with her.
"As a mom, I think my motherly instincts just went to, you know, 'I need to help her,'" Vogel told ABC News on Monday.
NYPD Deputy Commissioner John Miller wrote on Twitter: "Whether they’re rushing toward the danger to help save a little girl or rushing home to family after their tour this #MothersDay — the dedication of NY’s Finest knows no bounds."
New York City mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted Saturday that "the flood of illegal guns into our city must stop."
Shooting incidents in New York City nearly tripled in the month of April compared with last year, from 56 to 149, according to NYPD crime statistics.
