Man Wounded In Ankle In Shooting Near Barclays Center

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — A shooting left a man wounded in the ankle when a gunman opened fire in a quarrel outside the Atlantic Center Mall in Brooklyn Wednesday afternoon.

As CBS2's Andrea Grymes reported, the shooting happened just a block away from the Barclays Center.

Police said the shooting happened around 2 p.m. Wednesday, on Atlantic Avenue near Flatbush Avenue. The incident spilled over from the nearby subway station -- sparking a massive police response.

The victim works in a nearby restaurant and he claims he was headed to work when the shots rang out as he walked, sources said. He claimed he was walking west on Atlantic Avenue when the suspect came up, took out his gun, and fired outside a Victoria's Secret store at the mall, police said.

Witness Pamela Williams said the victim cried out, "Oh my God, oh my God, I'm shot! Oh my God, I'm shot!"

"We do believe there was definitely a dispute between the shooter and an unidentified individual or individuals -- we don't know. We don't have that video culled yet. And we do know it could have emanated from the vicinity of the Barclays train station," said NYPD Deputy Chief Vincent DiDonato of Patrol Borough Brooklyn South.

DiDonato said the shooting could have been a lot worse.

"I'm going to say thank God, thank God we only have one individual – in light of what's happened today in our country – that we had only one individual hit. Thank God. It could have been a lot worse. Thank God."

The victim was being treated at NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital.

The suspect was described as a black male standing about 5 feet 8 inches tall with a thin build, a blue baseball hat, a black T-shirt, blue Adidas-like sweat pants with stripes down the side, and white sneakers.

Police released surveillance video of the suspect late Wednesday afternoon.

As of 11:30 p.m., the suspect remained on the loose. while the victim is expected to make a full recovery

Anyone with information was asked to call the NYPD Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS or (888) 57-PISTA for Spanish, log onto the Crime Stoppers website, or text tips to 274637 (CRIMES) and enter TIP577.