Suspected Times Square Shooter Farrakhan Muhammad Has Been Arrested
The suspect in a shooting over the weekend at New York’s Times Square that wounded two women and a 4-year-old girl has been arrested.
Law enforcement officials partnered with U.S. Marshals to apprehend Farrakhan Muhammad near Jacksonville, Florida, where authorities believe he was staying with his girlfriend, according to WABC-TV.
It is not yet known if his girlfriend will be charged or if she knew about the shooting. She is being considered as a person of interest in the crime.
“Today we got justice,” New York Police Department Commissioner Dermot Shea said.
Officials used surveillance video to retrace Muhammad’s steps to a hotel in New York, where he changed clothes and skipped town with his girlfriend after the shooting.
Police tracked him as he traveled south, WABC-TV reported. He was spotted in North Carolina on Tuesday.
Police caught up to Muhammad and his girlfriend on Wednesday at a McDonald’s restaurant in Starke, Florida.
Bradford County Sheriff’s Office Col. Brad Smith called the arrest “uneventful,” according to NBC News. Muhammad is being held at the Bradford County jail.
Muhammad allegedly opened fire in Times Square on Saturday following a confrontation with multiple men, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Two women and a 4-year-old girl were struck by stray bullets. All victims were expected to recover from their injuries.
NYPD officer Alyssa Vogel was seen rushing the wounded girl to an ambulance following the shooting.
Violent crime in New York City has drastically increased over the past year, The Journal reported.
There have been 451 shootings as of May 9, an 85 percent increase from the same period in 2020, according to the New York Police Department.
“You commit gun violence in New York City, you will face the consequences. No matter how far you run,” New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio wrote on Twitter after Muhammad was apprehended.
You commit gun violence in New York City, you will face the consequences. No matter how far you run. https://t.co/yuIHN6zXhR
— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) May 12, 2021
New York has some of the strictest gun control laws in the country, but Shea said more are needed, according to WABC-TV.
Muhammad had a previous criminal record including harassment, robbery and assault. He had been known to frequent Times Square selling bootlegged CDs.
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