A 17-year-old suspect has been arrested after three people were shot in New York City’s Times Square in the early hours of Saturday.
Gunfire rang out at around 01:20 EDT (05:20 GMT) at West 44th Street and Seventh Avenue, below the towering billboards in one of the world’s busiest tourist hotspots.
The teenager has not been named by police, and charges were pending.
The shooting comes three months before the election for New York mayor, and as President Donald Trump sends federal agents into the streets of Washington DC to crack down on crimes committed by young people.
The shooting in Times Square erupted during a fight outside a Raising Cane’s chicken restaurant.
It stemmed from a dispute, according to the New York Police Department. A handgun was recovered at the scene.
Police say a 19-year-old man was shot in the foot, a 65-year-old man was hit in the left leg and an 18-year old woman was grazed in the neck.
They were all admitted to hospital in a stable condition.
Last month, a gun attack on an office building left four workers dead in Midtown Manhattan. The suspected gunman, a 27-year-old from Nevada, was believed to be targeting the National Football League offices.
According to New York police, the city has seen historically low levels of gun violence in recent months.
On Friday, Trump ordered federal agents into the streets of Washington DC to curb “totally out of control” levels of crime.
Washington DC’s homicide rate remains relatively high compared to other US cities, with a total of 98 such killings recorded so far this year. Homicides have been trending higher in the US capital compared with a decade ago.
But federal data from January shows that Washington DC last year recorded its lowest overall violent crime figures – once car-jacking, assault and robberies are incorporated – in 30 years.
On Saturday, Trump announced plans on Truth Social to host a news conference at the White House on Monday, “which will, essentially, stop violent crime in Washington, DC”.
