Police say a man is hospitalized with several gunshot wounds and his alleged attacker is in custody with a gunshot wound of his own after a chaotic series of events near 125th Street and Amsterdam Avenue in Harlem Friday night. Police said they’re still searching for a second shooter.
During a media briefing late Friday, the NYPD said it was also trying to determine if the first shooter was struck by bullets fired by police, or by the second shooter.
Manhattan North Borough Chief Aaron Edwards called the incident a “clear demonstration of the dangers that our officers run toward every single day.”
He said that at about 6:20 p.m., 32-year-old Randy Negron walked up to someone sitting outside a convenience store and opened fire, striking the victim several times at close range.
Two plainclothes officers were driving west on 125th Street while on a meal break and saw that shooting unfold, Edwards said. They got out of the car, and one of the officers chased Negron as he turned north onto Amsterdam Avenue, he said.
But Edwards said that as Negron rounded the corner, another man entered the intersection and began firing at him. The second shooter then went back to the corner of 125th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, he said.
Negron was struck once before being apprehended by police, he said. Several bullets also went through the window of a nearby health clinic, he said.
Edwards said an officer fired his own gun in the incident, but it’s still unclear whose shots struck Negron.
Both the victim who’d been outside the convenience store and Negron were transported to St. Luke’s Hospital, Edwards said. He said the victim was in serious but stable condition as of Friday night, and Negron was in stable condition.
Edward said Negron’s gun was recovered at the scene.
Edwards didn’t specify what charges Negron would face. He commended the officers who intervened, but did not identify them.
“They saw a shooting in broad daylight as people were getting off a bus and going home after a long week, and they did not hesitate to jump out of their vehicle to pursue this shooter, and prevent more people from getting hurt,” he said.
The incident is being investigated by the NYPD’s Force Investigation Division.
Attorney information for Negron wasn’t immediately available.
This is a developing story based on preliminary information from police and may be updated.
