OAN’s Brooke Mallory
5:56 PM – Friday, February 9, 2024
A 15-year-old illegal immigrant from Venezuela was taken into custody Friday after he was caught on video shooting tourists and firing at police during an attempted robbery in Times Square, according to law enforcement.
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Teenager Jesús Alejandro Rivas-Figueroa was arrested by the NYPD and U.S. Marshals Joint Regional Fugitive Task Force at a residence in Yonkers, New York, around 3:30 p.m. ET, officials said.
On Thursday, the NYPD posted an image of the 15-year-old boy and announced a reward for anyone with additional information that could lead to an arrest.
Shortly after, New York City Police Department Sergeant John Chell named Rivas-Figueroa an “armed and dangerous” person of interest in connection with the violent incident in Times Square on Thursday night.
Chell told reporters that the young man had been living at the Stratford Hotel on West 70th Street since September. The influx of illegal immigrants has forced city officials to open up hotel rooms for them at taxpayer expense.
Police officials said the 15-year-old is also a suspect in two other incidents, including a shooting in Midtown and an armed robbery that occurred in the Bronx on Jan. 27.th.
Chell also said the boy was in possession of a “large .45 caliber gun.”
He is accused of firing two shots at officers as he left the area Thursday night. According to reports, Rivas-Figueroa opened fire around 7 p.m.
The gunman hit a 38-year-old Brazilian tourist in the leg and fled with another teenage boy after the first shot. Shortly afterward, Rivas-Figueroa attempted to flee toward West 46th Street and fired at a nearby police officer, Chell said.
“He had no problem firing into a crowd at a store…and firing at police not once, but twice,” Chell continued.
Police officials said Rivas-Figueroa and two other undocumented immigrants, ages 15 and 16, were seen stealing clothing from multiple stores in the area.
Chell said a female security guard eventually stopped the trio and spoke with them, who reported that Rivas-Figueroa had pulled out a gun and fired at her. However, it was reported that the unarmed customer, not the security guard, was injured in the shooting, and the victim sustained a minor injury above the knee and is currently recovering.
Chell said there was video evidence showing Rivas-Figueroa and another teenage boy running from the store.
Police officers working nearby were eventually alerted and found them. They started chasing the two boys. Police said one person grabbed the unnamed youth, and Rivas-Figueroa continued toward Sixth Avenue.
“He turned once and fired at our officers,” Chell told reporters.
“Our officer has his gun drawn, but he cannot fire back. There are too many people in his path. The suspect goes through a cut between the buildings. He is running. He pulled out a gun and fired again at our officer in the armpit,” Chell continued.
Police captured Rivas-Figueroa on Friday morning, and he and another 16-year-old boy were taken into custody as authorities investigate their respective roles in the incident.
“We’re still trying to understand [their] It’s our role in this,” Chell said. “We’re not trying to broadly stigmatize the immigrant community as a whole…Our concern, and the community’s concern, is to get these armed and dangerous youth off the streets,” Chell asserted.
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