Two bystanders, including a 1-year-old girl, were injured when gunfire broke out in the Bronx in broad daylight Monday afternoon, according to police.
The shooting happened around 4 p.m. outside 726 Courtlandt Ave. in Melrose. A 32-year-old man was hit in the ankle, the NYPD said.
A bullet fragment also struck a parked 2023 Honda Civic carrying a teenage girl and a baby, shattering one of the vehicle’s windows, authorities said.
The 16-year-old passenger was not hurt, but flying glass struck the 1-year-old girl and caused minor injuries, police said.
Emergency medical workers brought both injured victims to Lincoln Hospital. They were listed in stable condition.
Investigators believe neither the man wounded in the ankle nor the children in the car was the shooter’s intended target, sources said.
Surveillance footage obtained from the scene captures the tense moments leading up to the shooting. A person dressed entirely in black walks along the block with one hand in a pocket, passing directly in front of the Honda.
The figure then pulls out a firearm and appears to fire at someone across the street who is outside the camera’s view, according to the video.
It remains unclear whether the person shown in the footage was responsible for breaking the Honda’s window. The shooter is seen fleeing moments later.
In the video’s dramatic closing moments, a man exits a nearby building, checks on the people inside the Honda and quickly ushers them indoors.
Neighbor Just Moore said he was returning from grocery shopping with his 11-month-old child when he came upon the aftermath of the shooting.
“It’s stuff like this that’s the reason I don’t wear headphones when I’m out with her,” Moore said. “You always have to be aware of something that’s going on.”
Moore said he was not shocked to hear about a shooting in the Bronx, but the location and timing caught him off guard because the neighborhood is usually quiet during that part of the day.
“It’s a dangerous situation in a relatively quiet area in a relatively quiet time of the day,” he said.
David Valentin, who lives nearby, said he was watching television when he heard what sounded like eight to 10 gunshots.
“I said, ‘It sounds like a gun, but it’s school time,’” Valentin said, describing the daytime shooting as “crazy.”
“Whatever person did that, they have to find him and get him off the streets. Because that’s dangerous,” he said.
Law enforcement sources said the teenager and infant were not acquainted with the man who was shot in the ankle.
No arrests have been reported, and the investigation remains active, police said.
