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Man Charged In Shooting That Injured 2 Near Battery Park

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A man stood charged late Thursday in connection with a shooting in Lower Manhattan that left two people hurt earlier this week.

NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said the man was arrested Tuesday night in the Monday afternoon shooting on Washington Street near Battery Park.

Boyce identified the suspect as Jason Wright, 37, of Bushwick, Brooklyn. He was charged with attempted murder, assault, criminal possession of a weapon, and reckless endangerment, Boyce said.

Wright has 20 prior arrests, and served 10 years in a 1997 homicide conviction, Boyce said.

The gunfire erupted following a quarrel between two men around 3:10 p.m. Monday, according to police.

Boyce said the shooting stemmed from a quarrel across the street at Battery Park "between some individuals who were selling tickets to some of the ferry boats."

"That argument started again across the street in front of 2 Washington Street, where one male engaged another male in a fist fight, it appears," Boyce said. "Now that male then shot the individual one time in the side."

That victim, a 40-year-old man, suffered a gunshot wound to the torso. Police said he was a passenger later stopped by officers in a speeding car traveling over the Brooklyn Bridge.

A second victim, a 34-year-old woman who works nearby, was also shot in the knee by a stray bullet. She was taken to NewYork-Presbyterian/Lower Manhattan Hospital, and her condition was reported to be stable following the shooting.

Boyce said Wright appeared in a plaid shirt in surveillance photos released after the shooting. Another man identified as a person of interest in the surveillance photos was deemed to be a witness and was not charged in the case, though police said he was arrested in an unrelated crime.

Lower Manhattan Shooting Suspect
Police say this man is Jason Wright, who has been charged in a shooting near Battery Park. (Credit: NYPD)

Boyce said police have made 39 arrests of ticket hustlers in the area so far this year.

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