Retired NYPD detective wounded by gang gunfire in Harlem; intended target grazed

A retired NYPD detective was wounded by a stray bullet in Harlem on Tuesday morning in a hail of gang gunfire that also grazed the shooters’ intended target, police sources said.

Victim Terence Felder was on his way to his current job as an investigative consultant for the city Administration for Children’s Services about 6:55 a.m. when he was shot in the abdomen with a bullet that also struck his elbow at W. 125th St. and Lenox Ave., according to cops.

Felder, 60, was a detective in the 24th Precinct when he retired from the NYPD in 2006. He lives in Rockland County.

He was just down the block from his office when he was struck. Medics rushed him to Harlem Hospital, which had released him as of Tuesday evening, sources said.

Administration for Children’s Services Commissioner Jess Dannhauser visited the retired detective at the hospital, where he was conscious, alert and speaking, according to sources.

Felder was resting at home Monday evening, his wife told the Daily News.

“He’s gonna be fine,” she said. “He still has a bullet lodged in his arm. He was shot in his chest, and it came out his side.”

The intended target, a 21-year-old man, was grazed in the neck and was at the same hospital in stable condition.

The gunfire erupted after two men walking down the block saw three men they knew, sources said. At least three people fired about nine shots total, they added. Cops suspect the two groups were part of rival gangs.

The intended target lives in the Bronx and has four prior arrests. He had been sought for questioning in an assault and drug incident, sources said. After he was shot, he would not answer questions from police.

A security guard working in an apartment building on Lenox Ave. said he saw Felder fall to the ground.

“I heard the shots,” he said. “It was five shots. The guy got shot right here. He wasn’t shooting at nobody.”

He described Felder as a tough guy.

“When he fell, he jumped right back up,” the security guard said. “Right back up. He didn’t stay down at all. I didn’t even think he was shot. I couldn’t tell where he was hit.”

The guard said he called 911 and waved the police down.

“When somebody’s hurt, I had to go outside,” he said. “I wasn’t going to sit in here and not do something to help.”

A stray bullet struck an outdoor dining shed at the popular Red Rooster restaurant across the street.

Iesha Sekou. founder and CEO of Street Corner Resources, a nonprofit funded by the Mayor’s Office to Prevent Gun Violence, said she visited both shooting victims in the hospital.

“We happened to see the retired officer in good spirits,” Sekou said. “I can’t even tell you how it warmed my heart to see him in the room. He was with his family and he was smiling.

“I just felt relieved. He was very nice. He said he was glad that the team was there,” she added.

Sekou remarked that it could have been a lot worse.

“This was an early-morning shooting on a main thoroughfare,” she said. “This is along Lenox Ave., where the train station is. Of course, people are going to school, people are going to work, opening their shops, their businesses. And we have two people shot this morning.”

An Administration for Children’s Services co-worker said Felder does investigations on criminal history.

“He’s a very nice guy,” she said. “When I ask questions, he helps.

The shooting took her by surprise.

“I was shocked,” she said. “I’m disappointed. I’ve worked here since 2015. It’s sad when I hear something like that. That’s really threatening to all of us.”

Cops on Monday evening released surveillance footage of two suspects they believe were involved in the gunfire.

They were last seen running southbound on Lenox Ave. and are still being sought, police said.