A 55-year-old woman from New York was grazed by a stray bullet while she walked along Central Park West on Thursday evening.
An unidentified bystander recounted her experience, saying she was in line at around 8:40 p.m. after getting off a bus at Manhattan Park and West 108th Avenue.
“Somebody exited the bus and shot a man on the street,” she explained in a phone call. “I had to quickly turn and think, ‘No way am I getting on that bus.’ I decided to head the other way.”
“I believe it was when I turned around that I realized I’d been hit,” she continued. “Since those two were still around, I hurried back to my friends at the restaurant to get help.”
The woman was taken to Morningside Mountain in Sinai, where she was reported to be in stable condition.
“I think it’ll get better,” she remarked about her injuries, but added that the emotional fallout may be tougher to handle.
“It’s frightening how close it was to causing panic for me,” she said. “It could have been just an inch away from something worse. And nobody knew I was there.”
Witnesses mentioned that the suspect, dressed in black, fled the scene on foot.
The victim, who has lived in New York City since 1993, expressed uncertainty about her comfort level with walking in the city again.
“I’m in shock right now, honestly,” she shared. “I have to process everything.”
“It’s just a real issue that needs addressing. It feels too confusing,” she commented on the street crime situation.
While she acknowledged that police responded well to her situation, she also emphasized that a systemic change is necessary.
“Why do some people feel empowered to threaten or shoot each other?” she pondered. “What leads to this? I really don’t know.”
Data from the NYPD shows this incident marked the third shooting victim in the 24th District this year.
Recent figures indicated that two individuals were injured in a shooting within the precinct; one was a 16-year-old boy shot in the stomach, while another unknown man was hit in the waist near a deli at West 92nd Street and Amsterdam Avenue.
Fortunately, neither victim’s injuries were life-threatening.
Last year at this time, there had been no shootings reported in the precinct.
Recently, two innocent bystanders citywide lost their lives to gunfire.
Ekinia Mette, the owner of a beloved Harlem bodega, was tragically killed on April 22 while checking on her grandchildren, caught in crossfire. Just a day later, Doud Marji, a 28-year-old plumber apprentice, was fatally shot while visiting friends in the Bronx.
