Police: Suspect Damon Bailey Robbed Bank 10 Minutes Before Shooting Man In Union Square Subway Station
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The NYPD has made an arrest in Monday's Union Square subway shooting.
It all happened as officers investigated a bank robbery Tuesday afternoon that they believe was committed by the same suspect.
CBS2's Aundrea Cline-Thomas spoke to the shooting victim.
The suspect was believed to have robbed a Chase bank, and was tracked down on an R train with three loaded handguns and mounds of cash. Officers said his distinctive shoes gave him away.
The shooting victim, who is still in the hospital, said everything happened so fast. At one moment he was on his phone minding his business and the next he was shot in his leg.
Around 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, NYPD officers swarmed the Union Square subway station and arrested a man who they believe shot the innocent passenger the day before in an N train car, before running away.
"Police officers responded to a report of a bank robbery at a Chase, discovered the description of suspect matched the description from yesterday's shooting," NYPD Chief of Transit Kathleen O'Reilly said.
The 42-year-old shooting victim asked that CBS2 not share his name.
"I was like looking at my phone and I stood up and he was standing in front of me and then he asked for my phone," the victim said in a phone interview.
He said when he was approached he did not immediately know it was an attempted robbery.
"He asked for my phone and ... what do you mean? He asked again for the phone and basically pulled a gun and shot me in my foot," the victim said.
Early Tuesday morning, the NYPD released pictures of the suspect who they say is also connected to two other crimes -- an attempted robbery at around 3:30 p.m. on Sunday at a deli on Lexington Avenue and East 41st Street, where the suspect allegedly targeted a man ordering food but refused the $45 offered to him.
Watch Aundrea Cline-Thomas' report --
Then on Monday, at around 4:47 p.m., just 10 minutes before the subway shooting, he allegedly was involved in a robbery of a TD Bank on Canal Street, where authorities say the suspect displayed a gun and ordered money from the teller. He got away with $1,100.
"We transmitted pictures of those shoes, readily identifiable, very easy for our officers to spot," O'Reilly said. "We're still deploying 1,000 officers into transit each and every day."
As CBS2's Cory James reports, Officer Lennoxann Samerson and her partner were the ones who spotted him.
"I went to the conductor, directed him to the hold the train," she said. "He was observed in the last train car, and he was identified based on ... the shoes."
As for the shooting victim, he said he rarely takes the N train, but was headed to the grocery store. Now, he's waiting for doctors to provide more details about his long recovery ahead.
The good news is the victim said the bullet did not hit any arteries.
As for the suspect, police said he did not resist.
Police identified him as Damon Bailey, 38. He faces robbery, attempted robbery, assault, reckless endangerment, and possession of a weapon charges.
CBS2's Cory James contributed to this report. It was originally published on Oct. 26, 2021 and has since been updated.