Daylight Harlem Shooting Injures Bystander, Police Say

EAST HARLEM, NY — Two men exchanged gunfire on an East Harlem block in broad daylight Thursday morning, injuring an innocent bystander — the neighborhood's second daytime shooting and third multiple shooting this week, police said.

The shootout near the corner of East 126th Street and Lexington Avenue happened just after 11:30 a.m., an NYPD spokesperson said.

One of the two gunmen was hit in the left foot and taken into custody by police, who then brought him to Harlem Hospital, police said.

An innocent male bystander was also shot once in the left leg and rushed to Harlem Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.

The unidentified second gunman was seen wearing a purple shirt, black jeans and gray sneakers, and fled westbound along East 126th Street after the shooting, police said.

Videos posted to the Citizen app showed police surrounding a deli on East 126th Street between Lexington and Park avenues.

Thursday's incident comes just two days after another broad-daylight shooting on 125th Street near Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Boulevard that injured a 20-year-old man and a 48-year-old female bystander, according to police.

Later that same day, four people were shot and wounded on West 116th Street near Frederick Douglass Boulevard, according to police. No arrests have been announced in either case.

Citywide, the number of shootings has dropped by nearly 12 percent this year compared to the same period in 2021, according to NYPD statistics. The Central Harlem precinct where this week's first two shootings took place has also seen an overall decline, although the East Harlem precinct where Thursday's shooting happened has experienced an increase.