Six people, including a 12-year-old, were injured in a shooting on Monday in New York’s Bronx, a region infamous for gang violence.

Advertisment

The New York Police Department (NYPD) said the incident took place just before 5 pm local time at a convenience store at 3544 White Plains Road in the Williamsbridge section of the Bronx.

A mother and her daughter, and four men who were injured in the shooting are being treated in the local hospital and are in stable condition, according to police.

Advertisment

The authorities said two gunmen opened fire at a group of four men, ages ranging from 18 to 21, in the middle of the street.

The group ran inside the crowded convenience store, where one of the intended targets used the mother as a shield.

She was shot in the stomach and her daughter was injured in the leg, while the men sustained gunshot wounds on arms and legs, the police said. 

Advertisment

“Tonight, in the Gun Hill section of the Bronx, we had a brazen and heartless attack by two shooters that opened fire in the middle of the street and into a crowded convenience store, striking six people, including a 40-year-old mother and her 12-year-old daughter that were used as shields, the mother used as a shield, by the intended targets of the shooting,’ said NYPD interim Chief of Department John Chell.

The NYPD said that they are searching for two suspects, who fled the scene after the shooting. The unidentified men were described as two black males, one wearing a black Nike sweatsuit and the other one wearing a grey hoodie.

The motive of the shooting is not known yet, however, the police believe it was a targeted shooting. Ballistic evidence was recovered on the scene and an investigation is underway. The police also urged people in the neighbourhood to come up if they have any information regarding the shooting.

(With inputs from agencies)