A teenage gunman burst into tears as he was led away in handcuffs for allegedly shooting a tourist in the leg after opening fire in Times Square.
Jesus Alejandro Rivas Figueroa, 15, a migrant from Venezuela, was arrested by US Marshals in Yonkers after a nearly daylong manhunt.
He is accused of shooting at a security guard who confiscated a jacket he and two friends were trying to steal from the JD Sports Store at West 42nd Street and Broadway.
The bullet missed and hit a 38-year-old Brazilian tourist who was waiting in line to buy a pair of sneakers around 7:15 PM on Thursday.
He fled through Times Square and allegedly shot wildly twice at the police who chased him without regard for the thick crowd of shoppers.
Jesus Alejandro Rivas Figueroa, 15, burst into tears as he was led away in handcuffs for shooting a tourist in the leg after opening fire in Times Square
The teenage migrant from Venezuela was arrested by U.S. Marshals in Yonkers after a nearly daylong manhunt
Figueroa escaped to the 49th Street subway station while one of his friends was arrested without incident.
The NPD offered a $13,500 reward for their hunt for Rivas Figueroa, who police said was living at the hotel shelter at the Stratford Hotel in Manhattan and entered the U.S. in September.
At just 15 years old, Rivas Figueroa is already wanted for two other crimes: an armed robbery in the Bronx on January 27 and another shooting in Midtown.
Patrol Chief John Chell said Friday that police have also identified the two other teenage boys of interest. The other two boys are 15 and 16, but have no names.
New York police are offering a $13,500 reward in their hunt for a gunman, Jesus Alejandro Rivas Figueroa
Rivas Figueroa is a 15-year-old migrant from Venezuela who entered the country in September
Police were seen outside the Stewart hotel on Friday searching for the alleged gunman, believed to be a migrant between the ages of 15 and 20.
Police are offering a $13,500 reward in the hunt for the gunman who wounded a Brazilian tourist and shot at police as they chased him
Chell said police are calling the 15-year-old a person of interest and are still determining what his involvement, if any, was. He was arrested shortly after the shooting when Rivas Figueroa escaped.
Police were seen outside the Stewart hotel Friday as they searched for the alleged shooter, who they say was armed with the .45 pistol he used to open fire in Midtown.
“We need the public’s help to identify and locate this person before he hurts anyone else. He has already shot an innocent person and tried to kill a New York police officer,” said Joseph Kenny, Chief of Detectives for the NYPD.
Gunfire erupted after a security guard stopped the gunman and two other teenagers as they tried to leave the JD Sports Store in Times Square with allegedly stolen items.
The female security guard asked for their receipts and one of the group walked out of the store empty-handed, but the other two stayed.
The security guard then grabbed a shopping bag containing a jacket they allegedly tried to steal and approached the other teen.
The NYPD hunts a thief who opened fire at JD Sports in Times Square overnight, wounding a tourist before fleeing
The security guard asked for their receipts and one of the group walked out of the store empty-handed, but the other two stayed
The young man then opened fire on the security guard, but instead hit a 37-year-old Brazilian woman in the leg, just above the knee, as she was shopping in the store with a friend.
After being shot, the tourist staggered to a storage room and barricaded herself inside while the security guard left the teens and rushed to her aid. Footage of the accident shows her being taken away by an ambulance.
The gunman, described as Hispanic, also shot at police as he fled, officials said, saying they planned to charge him with attempted murder of a police officer.
NYPD Patrol Chief John Chell said the gunman escaped to the 49th Street subway station.
Police also released the above image of the shooting suspect during the hunt for him
“In the middle of the block on 47th Street, there was a cut between the Fox buildings. As the perpetrator goes in there, he turns around once and shoots at our officer. Our officer draws his gun, but he can’t shoot, there are too many people around,” Chell said.
‘There are too many people hiding away. As the man in white moves further into the cut, under his armpit, he fires his second shot at our officer. Once again, our officer is not returning fire.”
The pair left a trail of clothing on West 48th Street and Sixth Avenue.
Police say the alleged gunman fled to a subway station at 46th Street and Sixth Avenue and surveillance footage shows him running onto the train tracks before exiting the subway system.
NYPD Deputy Commissioner Kaz Daughtry tweeted: “An attack on one officer is an attack on all of us! This coward shot a hard-working, innocent New Yorker and then opened fire on one of our officers. … This individual continues to pose a danger and must be apprehended immediately.”
Footage from the scene shows the Brazilian tourist being taken away by an ambulance
The suspects left a trail of clothing on West 48th Street and Sixth Avenue
Witnesses tied the victim’s shirt around her leg as a makeshift tourniquet as staff and other customers huddled in the back room of the store.
The tourist was rushed to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition and a police officer who became breathless while chasing the suspects was taken to NewYork-Presbyterian.
Police said the alleged shooter was last seen wearing a white baseball hat, white jacket and white pants.
“Right now we have numerous resources scouring this area looking for that male,” Chell said.
“He shot our officers not once but twice. He also shot an innocent woman once in the leg. That’s where we are now.’
Heavily armed police patrol Times Square as the gunman remains at large
Investigators mark a tool believed to have been dropped by the teens as they fled
It is the latest incident of rising crime in the tourist hotspot.
A gang of seven migrants have been charged with attacking NYPD officers in Times Square in a separate attack on January 27.
Most of them were released after their initial arrest and have not been located by police since.
Only one remains in custody.