A pedestrian was shot in the back with a gel blaster pellet gun during the Monday morning rush in the heart of Midtown. Police said this was one of three similar incidents in the city overnight.
According to police, the 47-year-old victim told police he was walking south on Fifth Avenue near 35th Street in Manhattan around 8:15 a.m. when he felt something hit his back. .
Police said the man confronted three suspects who were riding nearby, and a scuffle ensued.
Police said the suspects eventually punched and kicked the victim before jumping on a bicycle and fleeing north on Fifth Avenue.
The motive for the attack was unknown.
The incident occurred about 45 minutes after two suspects fatally shot a 62-year-old man with a gel blaster near the corner of Clinton and Stanton streets on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, police and sources said. did.
After the shooting, the two men fled northbound on Clinton Street, police said. The victim refused medical treatment.
The reason behind the attack was also unclear.
The third incident occurred Monday night in the Bronx, when a 51-year-old on-duty MTA fare collection worker was shot in the back and elbow with a BB gun while checking a car’s tires on Valentine Street, police said. Announced. .
The man suffered minor injuries in the 11pm attack, but the driver’s side window was shattered by a metal BB gun that missed its target.
Police said the shooting appeared to be reckless and the victim had no idea where the bullet came from.
Police have not said whether the incidents are related.
