A 15-year-old who allegedly shot a tourist in Times Square and opened fire on NYPD officers in Midtown on Thursday night has been arrested, according to authorities.
The teen, Jesus Rivas-Figueroa, is a migrant from Venezuela who had been living at the Stratford Arms Hotel in Manhattan, and was picked up on Friday in Yonkers after a manhunt to find the shooter, the NYPD said.
According to the investigation, the teen and two others were shoplifting from a store in Midtown, when they were stopped by a security guard — prompting the suspect to brandish a .45 caliber handgun and fire.
That bullet missed the security guard but struck a 37-year-old female tourist from Brazil in the leg. Paramedics rushed that victim to Bellevue Hospital, where she is expected to recover.
After the initial shooting, the three teens ran off through Midtown but were quickly chased by a pair of NYPD officers at around 7 p.m.
During the pursuit, Rivas-Figueroa turned around and fired off multiple rounds towards the cops.
“He shot the NYPD officers who pursued him through Midtown, without a single thought of who he might hit — or who he might kill,” NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban said at a press conference on Friday. “But just like we promised, less than 24 hours later, he’s locked up and off of our streets.”
None of the bullets hit either police officer, but sent shockwaves through the heavily populated area.
“Our officer draws his weapon, but did not fire,” said NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell. “There were too many people around, there’s too many people ducking.”
After a prolonged chase, NYPD officers apprehended one of the teens, and took him into custody on Thursday night.
The shooter, meanwhile, managed to escape, and was on the loose for nearly 24 hours.
On Friday evening, however, U.S. Marshals located Rivas-Figueroa in Yonkers, and arrested him, according to Chell.
The Police Commissioner commended authorities for their work, emphasizing the difficulty in tracking down the suspect so quickly.
“Considering where these shootings took place, it’s an actual miracle that we’re not having a very different conversation right now,” Caban said. “But no matter what, the men and women of the NYPD will never abide lawlessness, and we will never tolerate attacks on our cops.”
The suspect had come to New York as a migrant from Venezuela about six months ago, and had been living in the makeshift shelter erected inside of the Upper West Side hotel since then.
Rivas-Figueroa is reportedly also a suspect in two other incidents — an armed robbery in the Bronx, and a different shooting near Times Square, according to Chell.
This year, though Feb. 4, when the most recent NYPD data is available, there had been 74 shooting incidents in New York City — which marked a slight decline from the 81 cases of gun violence during the same time frame last year.
