LOWER EAST SIDE, Manhattan — Police launched an investigation after a 75-year-old woman was hit by a stray bullet when a nearby argument erupted in gunfire Tuesday on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, the NYPD said Wednesday.
Authorities said it all started just before noon when a man trying to cross Clinton Street, near Delancey Street, was nearly struck by a BMW turning right onto Clinton Street.
A verbal dispute between the driver and pedestrian ensued, with the man driving the BMW then getting out of his car as it continued, police said.
The man who had been walking then pulled out a handgun and fired multiple times in the direction of the other man, according to the NYPD.
Unharmed, the driver jumped back in his car and sped off, officials said.
As result of the gunfire, however, a woman nearby on the street was struck by a bullet in the buttocks, according to police.
The NYPD said EMS responded to the scene and took the victim to a nearby hospital. Her condition was not known Wednesday morning.
Police said they were looking for a man last seen wearing a dark-colored jacket, a dark-colored hooded sweatshirt, a white shirt with Tupac Shakur on the front, dark pants, a gray knit cap and a protective face mask.
The NYPD released the above surveillance image in hopes the public could help identify him.
Submit tips to police by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), visiting www.nypdcrimestoppers.com, downloading the NYPD Crime Stoppers mobile app, or texting 274637 (CRIMES) then entering TIP577. Spanish-speaking callers are asked to dial 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
