Police Commissioner Dermot Shea and fellow NYPD officials announced that the Times Square shooter was apprehended on May 12.
Farrakhan Muhammad, the man who opened fire in a packed Times Square on May 8, leaving three injured—including a four-year-old girl—during an alleged turf dispute with his own brother has been taken into custody.
“We were all there in Times Square where three innocent people were shot senselessly. While there is no joy today, there is justice,” Commissioner Shea said, adding, “The shooter in the incident was apprehended and will be eventually returned to face justice in New York City.”
Commissioner Shea recalls visiting the four-year-old girl, Skye Martinez, at Bellevue’s pediatric emergency room, and promised her father that he would get justice for his little girl.
“Today we fulfilled that promise,” Shea said proudly.
Chief of Detectives James W. Essig told members of the press Wednesday afternoon that Muhammad was taken into custody in the parking lot of a McDonald’s in Starke, Florida by US Marshalls. Officials stressed that he was placed into cuffs without incident and that the process “went by the book.”
“You can only imagine, it’s a daytime shooting in Times Square, thousands of hours of video canvassing to review, witnesses to be interviewed, and the eyes of the world were watching, and here we are four days later with an apprehension,” Essig said, thanking the detectives involved and the public’s tips to crime stoppers.
According to Essig, Muhammad attempted to evade detection by changing his clothing and shaving his head while in a hotel on West 42nd Street.
“We were able to determine that Mr. Muhammad was traveling out of state and headed south,” Essig said.
Thanks to numerous public tips, Essig says that detectives scoured through security footage, and with a diligent investigation, police were able to trace him and his girlfriend to their whereabouts. Prior to the arrest, the pair had made a pit stop at a Walmart in Fayetteville, North Carolina where they stocked up on supplies, including food for their two dogs.
Muhammad’s girlfriend is a person of interest but had not been charged at this time.
Officials warned that it may take some time to extradite Muhammad back to New York, however, they are more than confident that chargers will be swift, and justice will be served. He is presently located in the custody of the Starke police department.
“There is no motive for pulling out a gun and shooting anywhere in New York City. We believe our perp and victim are CD vendor sellers in the area. That does not excuse anything, the investigation into the motive is still ongoing,” Essig said.
