A 15-year-old boy was arrested Friday for the brazen daylight gunfight that left a 5-year-old girl grazed by a bullet outside a Bronx deli, cops said.
The teen is charged with attempted murder, assault, criminal possession of a weapon and reckless endangerment, among other charges, for his role in Wednesday’s gun battle. His name is being withheld due to his age.
The NYPD on Friday released new images of two outstanding suspects sought in the shooting, including one man last seen wearing green headgear, a black sweater and a brown backpack.
The other suspect pictured was last seen wearing a black sweater with a white logo on the back, grey jeans and black sneakers.
The little girl was holding her mom’s hand when three men opened fire on a rival group near Southern Blvd. Gourmet Deli and Juice Bar in Longwood about 5:40 p.m. Wednesday, police said.
“There was a group of guys, around 12 of them, and I said to my daughter, ‘Come on girl, they about to start fighting,’” the 42-year-old mother told the Daily News on Thursday. “As soon as I said those words to her, they started shooting.”
The mother, who asked to remain anonymous, saw a young man snatch a large bag of weed out a rival’s hands moments before shots rang out on Southern Blvd. near Westchester Ave., she said.
Inside the deli, workers leapt for cover as bullets whizzed through the store.
“I heard the shots and I laid right down,” deli worker Hamood Ahmed, 25, told the Daily News. “A bullet went through the glass in the door. I was scared. I’m just glad I’m alive.”
The mother heard about 10 shots as she grabbed her daughter and ran into a nearby beauty supply store to take cover.
After a police officer confirmed the girl had been grazed behind her right ear, medics rushed her to Harlem Hospital, where she was recovering Thursday after cheating death by inches.
“It’s an open wound so she’s on antibiotics right now through an IV,” the mother said, adding that her daughter is also being given pain medication.
Police were investigating a gang connection between the groups involved in the shootout, sources with knowledge of the case said.
Anyone with information regarding the other two suspects is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.