A 22-year-old man was shot to death yesterday outside the Port Authority bus station and a few steps from Times Square, a tourist mecca in New York, causing a stampede among terrified passers-by.
The shots were fired near the corner of W. 44th St. and 8th Ave. outside a local of the hamburger chain “Shake Shack” around 5:35 p.m. Thursday, police officers and witnesses said.
“There was a stampede of people trying to escape,” witness Will Colon told Daily News. The victim was shot in the torso. It wobbled a block south before collapsing.
“It was a couple of young people who shot him,” Colón added. “His body was lying on the sidewalk. He was on his back shaking… It seemed that he was not going to survive ”.
When paramedics arrived, the injured man was in cardiac arrest, a police source added. They rushed him to Mount Sinai West, but were unable to save him. The young man was not immediately identified and it is not known if he knew his attackers nor has the motive for the shooting been determined.
Two men suspected gunmen fled south on foot onto 8th Ave. and made a right turn onto W. 43rd St. Until early this morning no arrests had been made or suspects identified. Anyone with information should call to 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) and in Spanish 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). Also through the page crimestoppers.nypdonline.org or by text to 274637 (CRIMES), followed by TIP577. All communications are strictly confidential.
Young people are increasingly protagonists in gun violence in New York as victims and perpetrators, particularly shootings and attacks with white weapons. In September an NYPD report found that recidivism among teens had increased dramatically over the past five years, and the number of gunmen and their underage victims had tripled.