4-Year-Old Girl, 2 Men Shot Outside Bodega In The Bronx; 2 Arrested

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Three people, including a 4-year-old girl, were shot Wednesday morning outside a bodega in the Bronx.

Two men were arrested late Wednesday. Surveillance video shows a man in a blue shirt appear to fire a gun, hitting another man in the back who then falls to the ground.

Investigators were still piecing together what exactly happened as of Wednesday evening, but so far police say it appears there was a quarrel -- and the little girl was caught in the crossfire.

Shots broke out on the sidewalk outside 390 East 167th St. in Morrisania around 11:30 a.m. Wednesday. Orange cones marked the spots where shell casings and bullets landed.

The 4-year-old girl was shot once in the back when two gunman fired 17 shots. She was taken to a nearby hospital and is in surgery, 1010 WINS' Al Jones reported.

A 33-year-old man, who was believed to be the intended target, was shot multiple times in the legs and a 57-year-old man was shot in the back.

Dizzy Tompkins was sitting in a chair on the sidewalk when he heard the shots.

"Pop, pop, pop! There was like this loud firecrackers going off," Tompkins told WCBS 880's Mike Sugerman. "They counted 14 shells on the ground."

It was also a near miss for Jessie Tompkins, sitting close by at the time of the shooting.

"I was maybe about a foot and a half away from it," he said.

As CBS2's Valerie castro reported, police say the shooting was between two sets of people who planned to meet up in front of the bodega.

"They agreed to meet here, these two groups, three on one side and three on the other, at which point the fisticuffs begin and the guns come out," NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said Wednesday.

In the surveillance video you can see them apparently arguing. One man puts up his fists and threatens another.

Then, as the groups seem to split up, the shots are fired. Innocent bystanders can be seen running for their lives.

One woman frantically tried to get away while using a walker.

It happened so fast, many workers who spoke with CBS2 say they heard the gunshots but didn't see anything when they got around to looking outside.

With so many bullets flying on such a nice day, some say it's shocking that others weren't hit.

"It didn't look like there was a lot of people walking by," Chief Boyce told CBS2's Alice Gainer. "There was, it's 12 o'clock in the middle of the summer in the Bronx, so there was people walking by. Thankfully not many."

None of the injuries are considered life-threatening.

Chaplain Robert Rice said he visited with the family of the injured child at NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln.

"I prayed with the mother and I prayed for the child," he told CBS2.

Police responded to the shooting after receiving a ShotSpotter alert. The sensors notify authorities when the sounds of gunfire are detected.

The suspects fled in two cars.

Late Wednesday, two men were arrested and charged with reckless endangerment, criminal possession of a firearm, and assault, among other counts. The men's names were not immediately released.

Back at the scene, police put up fliers asking for witnesses to come forward.

Community activist Tony Herbert spoke out against the gun violence and offered a $2,500 dollar reward for information.

"We need you to come forward," he said. "The video here helps, but it's not enough to secure the conviction that we need to get those individuals off the street."

Police were still searching for two other suspects late Wednesday.

In:
• The Bronx
• Morrisania
• New York City Police Department
• Bill de Blasio