NEW YORK, June 14 (Our New York News) — The NYPD said officers took three persons of interest into custody after a 17-year-old male was shot in the foot near 42nd Street and Broadway in Times Square during overnight celebrations of the New York Knicks’ NBA championship win.
Police said officers responded to the shooting at about 2:01 a.m. near the Midtown intersection. The teenager was shot once in the left foot and taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition, according to the NYPD. Police also said a firearm was recovered at the scene.
The available public accounts do not identify any person charged in the shooting. They also do not include a criminal complaint, court docket, prosecutor statement, defense statement or case caption tied to the shooting or the reported property damage in Times Square. That leaves key questions unanswered, including who fired the weapon, what charges may be filed, and whether the people detained by police were later booked or released.
The shooting was one part of a broader night of disorder in Times Square and nearby Midtown streets after the Knicks’ title win. Police said multiple arrests were made during the unrest, according to the Associated Press, but a final total was not available in the early accounts reviewed.
The record is clearest on the shooting response because those details came from the NYPD: the time, location, victim’s age, injury, hospital status, three persons of interest and firearm recovery. Other parts of the night are documented mainly through video and firsthand reporting by national news organizations.
Video circulating online appeared to show two people jumping onto the roof of an NYPD vehicle and smashing its windshield, Fox News reported. The video descriptions are not the same as a court finding, and the available accounts do not identify the people in the footage or say whether they were among those arrested.
Other video and witness accounts described people climbing on and entering school buses in Times Square. The Associated Press reported that rowdy fans were seen smashing windshields, scaling scaffolding, light poles and a statue, climbing into and atop school buses, and trying to hitch a ride on a moving fire truck.
Reuters reported that hundreds of mostly young people swarmed a convoy of about 15 shuttle buses in Times Square. According to Reuters, some people climbed onto the buses’ roofs, entered the buses and sat in drivers’ seats. A Reuters video journalist reported seeing one yellow school bus in flames, and Reuters reported that at least three other shuttle buses sustained heavy damage.
Reuters also reported that the burning yellow school bus had been hired by New York City government to help transport soccer fans. The available accounts do not include a city agency statement explaining the bus operation, the extent of the damage or the cause of the fire.
CNN reported that officers moved in after a crowd began damaging a parked school bus and tearing off part of its hood. CNN also reported that the bus was seen being rocked back and forth. Around the same time, on Sixth Avenue, CNN reported that multiple police cars were damaged and their windshields shattered, and that bottles and coolers were thrown toward officers as more police moved in.
There was some early inconsistency in public accounts of injuries. The Associated Press reported that preliminary police reports had indicated no one was injured. Other police-attributed accounts, including those relayed by Fox News and Reuters, said a 17-year-old was shot in the foot and taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition. The later, more specific NYPD-attributed account identified the teen shooting victim.
No available source identified a motive, a shooter, the type of firearm beyond “a firearm,” or the final number of arrests from the Times Square unrest. No court filing reviewed in the available material tied any named defendant to the shooting, the damaged police vehicles or the damaged buses.
