The NYPD is hunting the young gunman — who police sources say is believed to be a migrant — suspected of shooting an innocent tourist and firing at a cop during a botched robbery in Times Square.
A reward of up to $13,500 is being offered for anyone with information leading to the suspect, a man between the ages of 15 and 20 who was wearing an all-white outfit during Thursday night’s chaos at the Crossroads of the World, the NYPD posted on X.
The suspected shooter and two others — also believed to be in their early to late teens — were spotted bagging up loot, possibly sneakers, on the second floor of the JD Sports store at West 42nd Street and Seventh Avenue around 7 p.m., NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell said at a news conference Thursday.
A female security guard stopped two of the bandits in the lobby area, where she was able to yank a bag of stolen goods from the suspect wearing all white — who pulled out a gun and fired in her direction, Chell said.
The bullet missed the security guard, but struck a 37-year-old woman visiting from Brazil who was in the store.
The gunman and the blue jacket-wearing teen who was with him in the lobby bolted from the store, while the third youngster remained, police and sources said.
Cops patrolling the area near West 46th Street and Seventh Avenue gave chase and quickly captured one of the runners, who sources said is a 15-year-old being housed at the Stewart Hotel in Midtown, which has been turned into a migrant shelter.
The gunman ran down West 47th Street toward Sixth Avenue and fired off two shots at a pursuing officer, according to Chell.
Here’s the latest on the Times Square shooting
- A tourist was shot in the leg at a retail store in Times Square on Thursday night by a shoplifter. The shoplifter then opened fire at an NYPD officer in Midtown, according to police.
- NYPD has identified Jesus Lejenadro Rivas-Figueroa, 15, as a person of interest in connection to the Thursday night shooting, Chief of Patrol John Chell said.
- The NYPD has offered a $10,000 reward for anyone with information leading to the suspect.
- A security guard at JD Sports at West 42 Street and Broadway approached a group of young males to stop them from stealing when one pulled out a gun, fired it in her direction and missed, hitting the nearby tourist.
- Sources said Friday that a 15-year-old and a third person were taken into custody and later released.
- Jesus Alejandro Rivas-Figueroa, a 15-year-old Venezuelan teen migrant identified as the shooting suspect by NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell, was taken into custody around 3:30 p.m. Friday at a home in Yonkers.
The cop was not hit and did not return fire.
“Our officer draws his weapon but he cannot fire — too many people around, too many people ducking,” Chell said.
The shooter ducked into the subway at West 46th Street and Sixth Avenue, where he ditched his white jacket and made his escape.
“At this point, we have numerous resources scouring this area looking for that male,” Chell said.
“He shot at our cops not once but twice. He also shot an innocent female one time in the leg. That’s where we stand right now.”
Sources said Friday that the 15-year-old and the third person who had stayed behind were taken into custody and then released — with the gunman still on the loose.
According to a 911 call, the tourist was shot just above her left knee and barricaded herself inside a storage room.
The security guard rushed to the woman’s aid, sources said, and she was taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition.
She had been released and returned to her room at the Rio Plaza Hotel Friday.
“I was able to speak with her this morning. She’s doing great,” Bernardo Naval, the hotel manager, told The Post on the victim’s behalf.
“She has minor injuries in her knee. She’s with her mother in law. They have been able to remain calm,” he added.
“They were doing some shopping and they heard a big bang next to her. She didn’t even realize that she was hit,” Naval said of the harrowing night.
The woman and her relative are returning to Brazil tomorrow, the manager said.
The Times Square Alliance — which dropped by the hotel that morning — said they “were just so pleased that she’s back in her hotel room and doing well.”
Sources said Friday that the 15-year-old and the third person who had stayed behind were taken into custody — with the gunman still on the loose.
JD Sports workers who were not at the scene of the shooting Thursday night expressed shock as they arrived early Friday.
“No people come in trying to steal,” one told The Post. “You have a little scuffle here and there, but nothing like this.”
But another admitted there has been an increase in shoplifting in the well-known tourist area.
Law enforcement officers are concerned that shoplifting incidents may increase as more and more migrants seek shelter in the Big Apple.
“You are seeing gang-adjacent hierarchical structures take place,” one senior officer told The Post of the situation at city shelters.
The official went on to call the shooting at an officer “very disconcerting” and said he hopes the armed shoplifting is just “an aberration.”
“But [it] could be part of something bigger,” he said. “That concerns us.”
“Are the guns an aberration? Is it the next stage in an evolution? We don’t know.”
Additional reporting by Melissa Koenig and Olivia Land
