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Teen accused of shooting tourist in Times Square, firing at cop arrested after search

Published:Friday | February 9, 2024 | 9:36 PM
This surveillance image taken from a wanted poster provided by New York City Police Department Deputy Commissioner of Operations Kaz Daughtry on Friday, February 9, 2024, shows a suspected shoplifter who shot a tourist in the leg inside a Times Square, New York, sporting goods store on Thursday, February 8, 2024, who then fled into the street, stopping to shoot at a pursuing police officer. (New York City Police Department Deputy Commissioner of Operations Kaz Daughtry via AP)

NEW YORK (AP) — A 15-year-old accused of shooting a Brazilian tourist in the leg in Times Square Thursday night, then firing at a police officer while fleeing, was arrested just outside of New York City on Friday, police officials said.

The teenager was taken into custody at a residential house that police believe may be linked to a family member in Yonkers nearly 24 hours after the shooting that began in a sporting goods store and spilled out onto the bustling streets of Midtown Manhattan.

At a press conference announcing the arrest Friday evening, New York City Police Commissioner Edward Caban said it was an “actual miracle” that no one was seriously injured in the shooting.

“In the middle of the busiest, most highly trafficked part of this city, a criminal with a firearm decided to pull the trigger,” Caban said.

Hours before, police identified the suspect as a resident of a migrant shelter in Manhattan who arrived in New York from Venezuela late last year.

He is also considered a suspect in an armed robbery in the Bronx and a separate shooting in Times Square last month, police said.

Police said the shooter, dressed in all white, and two teenage classmates were shoplifting a jacket from the store shortly after 7 p.m. when they were confronted by a security guard who asked to see a receipt.

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