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An 18-year-old has confessed to the tragic stray-bullet killing of an elderly disabled woman in East Harlem, as reported by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
Faisil McCants, who is now facing a mandatory minimum prison term of 30 years and could be sentenced to life, admitted to discharging a machine gun that fatally struck 69-year-old Robin Wright in the head. The incident occurred at approximately 12:25 p.m. on August 27 near East 110th Street and Madison Avenue, just a short distance from the residence she shared with her grandson.
“In broad daylight, Faisil McCants unleashed 15 bullets in mere seconds, tragically taking the life of a 69-year-old woman who was simply standing by her walker,” stated U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton in a formal announcement.
McCants is scheduled for sentencing on March 31, 2026.
The suspect was apprehended on September 4 by officers from Homeland Security in conjunction with the NYPD Violent Crimes Task Force. He is facing federal charges of armed robbery and possession of a machine gun, alongside murder and robbery charges in Manhattan Criminal Court, as detailed in the federal complaint.
Through the examination of surveillance footage and the recovery of 15 shell casings from the scene, an agent from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives concluded that a machine gun was used in the shooting, and only a single trigger pull was required to fire all the rounds, according to the complaint.
An analysis by an Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agent of surveillance video, and 15 shell casings found at the scene, determined the shooter used a machine gun, and that the trigger was pulled only once, the complaint states.
“Nearly three months ago, Robin Wright’s life was cut short in what can only be described as a senseless, avoidable and absolutely unacceptable tragedy,” said Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Ricky Patel. “With today’s guilty plea, an admitted violent criminal will spend decades in prison with no choice but to relive the events — and the decisions — that landed him there, while an innocent woman’s grieving family prepares for their first holiday season without her. ”
Sept. 5, 2025: Teen’s bullet killed her: cops
New York Daily News Front page for Sept. 5, 2025: 18-year-old held in machine gun shooting; stray shot hit innocent woman using walker. Robin Wright was killed by an errant shot allegedly fired by Faisil McCants (inset), who was charged Thursday night.
The day of the shooting, McCants and two unidentified people robbed a drug dealer selling marijuana while he was napping in a lawn chair in front of a deli at the corner of E. 109th St. and Madison Ave., federal authorities allege in the complaint against McCants.
After a brief scuffle, McCants and his companions grabbed the drug dealer’s marijuana-filled backpacks and ran north on Madison Ave. before turning east on 110th St., as the dealer chased after them. McCants, identified in the complaint as the “tallest of the individuals,” then pulled out a black gun from his right sweatshirt pocket, and sent a spray of bullets in the direction of the dealer, the complaint states.
One of the bullets struck Wright, according to the complaint. Authorities recovered 15 bullet-shell casings at the scene.
Wright and a friend, Junita Arnold, were heading home with Chinese food and had just turned the corner onto E. 110th St. and were walking toward Madison Ave. when Arnold spotted three men in hoodies running across the avenue.
“I said [to Wright], ‘They looked like they got guns,’” Arnold told the Daily News. “I didn’t see the gun but I felt within myself, the way they were running.”
“I was right,” Arnold added. “Next thing, I heard six to seven gunshots and I’m standing there. I looked and my friend is down on the ground.”
Medics rushed Wright to Mount Sinai Hospital, but she could not be saved.
“That [bullet] wasn’t for her,” Arnold said. “We were minding our business.”
