NYPD: 14-Year-Old Grazed By Bullet While Getting On Bus In East Harlem
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A shooting in Harlem on Thursday left bullet holes in a Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus.
One of them grazed a young teenager's head. Police said the victim was apparently ambushed at a bus stop, CBS2's Dave Carlin reported.
The M1 bus has scars on its front, where a pair of bullets struck it.
Grazed by one shot was a 14-year-old, who police say was getting on the bus.
"It looks intentional to me right now," NYPD Inspector Peter Fiorillo said. "It just looks like there's a direct from the shooter immediately to the victim and there's no in between, there's no hesitation."
WATCH: NYPD Briefing On Shooting In East Harlem
The incident happened at 10 a.m. at the bus stop for West 139th Street at Lenox Avenue. Witnesses said it looked like the gunman waited for the victim, who appeared to be getting on the bus in order to escape.
"He was the target. He was the intended target," Iesha Sekou said.
Sekou leads the Cure Violence nonprofit Street Corner Resources. She was called to visit the boy in the emergency room.
"This young man was really blessed. He was blessed to not have the bullet penetrate his skull," Sekou said.
A rash of shootings continues in New York City. According NYPD, fatal shooting cases where victims were kids aged 17 and younger have more doubled so far this year, compared to the same period last year -- 16 for 2021 compared to seven in 2020.
Investigators said the bus driver, was close to getting struck and is very shaken. The driver went to the hospital and will get counseling. The 39-year-old has four and a half years on the job.
"Based upon his mental well-being, we'll be working with him to figure out when next he'll be in service," MTA President Craig Cipriano said.
The gunman remains at large.
Cure Violence advocates who visited the victim in the emergency room said the teen told them he had a long-standing feud with the gunman, but would not identify him. Nor would he say what started the fight.