NYPD: 11-Year-Old Shot In Leg In East Harlem
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- An 11-year-old boy was wounded by gunfire on Sunday in East Harlem.
Police said the child was shot in the leg and rushed to Harlem Hospital. It appears to be another incident involving a stray bullet.
Bodega workers on East 109th Street and Madison Avenue told CBS2's Reena Roy that the young boy ran into the store in a panic, yelling for help and saying he had been shot.
"While I was making a sandwich, this little kid ... we know him from the neighborhood ... ran in saying he got shot," bodega worker Arthur Castillo said.
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Facebook video shows an emergency worker putting a towel on the 11-year-old's leg. That's where police say the bullet hit him just before 3:30 p.m. The boy's wound was said to be non-life threatening.
"I called 911. They came. We laid him down on floor. He was scared. He was basically scared," Castillo said. "He was like, 'Please call 911. Call 911.' I tried to calm him down. He's a little boy. He was scared."
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Surveillance video shows a man running with a gun just a block from that bodega, firing multiple rounds before sprinting off. Witnesses inside the store then called 911.
"It's ridiculous," Castillo said. "Words cannot explain that because I'm worried about smoking a cigarette and now I'm gonna get shot."
Officials said they do believe that boy was not the intended target and they are still searching for gunman.
"It's sad. I just wish him the best," Castillo said. "We all as parents have to take this more serious and watch our kids, who they hang out with, where they're going."
Officials told Roy the boy did not appear to be the gunman's intended target.
