Teen Shot At While Boarding Bus In Harlem, Police Say

HARLEM, NY — Tragedy was narrowly averted Thursday when someone shot at a teenage boy while he boarded a bus in Harlem, barely missing the boy as well as the bus driver, according to police.

The shooting happened around 10 a.m., as the eastbound M1 bus pulled into the stop at 139th Street and Lenox Avenue, on the southeast corner.

As the 14-year-old boy boarded the bus at the front entrance, an unknown male shot at him, grazing the boy on the left side of his head, NYPD Inspector Peter Fiorello told reporters Thursday afternoon.

One gunshot struck the metal bar on the protective shield that covers the bus driver, while another round hit the bus's front windshield. The bus driver, a 39-year-old man, suffered only a minor injury to his left hand.

"Out of the grace of God, he did not suffer any physical injuries," said Craig Cipriano, interim president of New York City Transit.

The driver and the boy were both hospitalized and expected to recover.

The gunman fled on foot, and detectives are now canvassing surveillance cameras in hopes of tracking his movements to the bus stop Thursday morning, Fiorello said. The 14-year-old boy was believed to be the intended target.

So far this year, crime has risen by about 12 percent compared to last year in Harlem's 32nd Precinct, where Wednesday's shooting took place, according to NYPD statistics. Shootings have increased to 38 this year from 28 through the same period in 2020 — a 36 percent rise.

Across the city, however, shootings and murders decreased in recent weeks after a violent start to the summer.