Father Of 11 Caught In Crossfire While Playing Dominoes In Latest Stray Bullet Shooting
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - It's happened again: Another innocent person has been hit by a stray bullet in New York City.
The most recent shootout was captured on surveillance video.
Robert Griggs, 51, was caught in the crossfire of a shootout Wednesday in the Bronx.
In an exclusive interview, he told CBS2's Aundrea Cline-Thomas what happened.
"I felt like a stinging pain in my back and I heard two shots," Griggs said.
Surveillance video shows the two brazen men shooting at each other in the Concourse Village section. At first, they open fire on the sidewalk. Then one suspect ducks behind a car, only to emerge as he runs down Sherman Avenue with his gun out, aimed at the other suspect who was running away.
"Once they told me I was shot, I was like, 'Who shot me?' But when I first got shot and I stood up, I looked down the street and I saw the guy in black. He like turned around and started running."
More than a dozen innocent bystanders have been struck by stray bullets in New York City since the start of June.
Griggs, a father of 11, was shot in his torso while playing dominoes with friends just before 8 p.m. - still light outside - and a stone's throw from the courthouse.
"This is ridiculous, because this is an active community. Children, school is right here. You have kids walking up and down all day every day," one resident said.
Residents said police responded in full force and made multiple arrests.
A Facebook live video shows officers taking down one man during an arrest. Another video shows a woman being swarmed by officers and forcefully pushed up against a parked car. Residents said she was on her way to work.
"You call for safety and then you're the one that's harassed by the people who are supposed to be protecting you," resident James Rucker said.
In a statement, the NYPD said officers arrived to a chaotic scene where some people were throwing bottles and attempting to remove evidence.
Three people who were arrested were treated for minor injuries.
"This is a high-crime area, it's always been," said resident Julio Cordova. "So anything that happens, even if people saw something, they're not going to tell you."
Meanwhile, the suspects involved in the shooting are still on the run.
This is at least the 14th stray bullet shooting in two months.
- June 4 – A 15-year-old girl was shot in thigh while sitting on a bench on a basketball court in Bushwick, Brooklyn.
- June 5 – A seven-year-old Bronx boy was shot in the leg while walking home from school with his grandmother.
- June 5 – Two elderly women were shot while sitting in their Queens home.
- June 7 – An East Harlem woman was shot in arm at 102nd Street and Madison Ave.
- June 10 – A man is shot and killed while his walking dog in Hamilton Heights.
- June 12 – A Bronx woman was shot in the arm while walking to work on Williamsbridge Road.
- June 20 - An 11-year-old boy and 31-year-old man were shot on a sidewalk in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. The boy could be paralyzed.
- June 21 - A man, 20, was shot in the neck while sitting in a car in East New York, Brooklyn.
- June 23 - Two men and a woman were shot in the Bronx. At least one was an innocent bystander.
- July 13 - A woman, 76, was grazed in the neck while sitting in a car in Queens.
- July 13 - A woman, 67, was shot in the leg inside the lobby of the George Washington Houses in East Harlem.
- July 21 - An 11-year-old boy was shot in the leg outside an East Harlem deli.
- July 24 - A 13-year-old girl was shot in the shoulder while sitting on a playground bench in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn.
- July 24 - A 51-year-old man is shot while playing dominoes after two gunmen open fire in the Bronx.
Anyone with information is asked to call NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or 1-888-57-PISTA (74782) for Spanish. You can also submit a tip via the Crime Stoppers website, by Tweeting @NYPDTips or by texting a tip to 274637 (CRIMES) and then entering TIP577.
