By Carol Tannenhauser
A teenager was shot in the stomach on Tuesday morning at around 9:54 a.m., on W. 68th Street and Amsterdam Avenue, police told West Side Rag. The 17 year old was taken to Weill-Cornell Medical Center in stable condition. Police have “a person of interest” in custody.
There are no further details at this time. An investigation is ongoing.
Update: The NYPD held a press conference at around 12:40 p.m., revealing more details about the incident. Witnesses told police there was a “physical altercation” before the shooting, involving a group of four to five teenage boys. A gun was displayed and a 17 year old was shot multiple times in the abdomen. He then ran two blocks to his high school (Martin Luther King High School on 66th Street), where an ambulance was called. Chief of Patrol John Chell emphasized that “the shooting did not take place in the school.” Subsequently, he said, thanks to the quick response and detailed descriptions of Upper West Siders, police from the 20th precinct were able to apprehend the suspected shooter in a yellow cab one block away, and a firearm was recovered. The suspect is a 19-year-old male who has three prior arrests, two for narcotics in 2023, and one for armed robbery in 2021, for which he is currently out on bail, Chief Chell said. Police have not taken a statement from the victim, as he “is just out of surgery.” You can watch the entire press conference below.
Watch as Chief of Patrol John Chell provides an update on an active police investigation. https://t.co/H18WAsl2FU
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) March 14, 2023
There are more Illegal guns on the Upper West Side today then in anytime in history. 10 years ago almost nobody walked around carrying an illegal gun, they might have one nearby, but you had to be out of your mind to just carry it around. They knew the chance of being stopped by the NYPD was high and they would go to jail. Today the chances of anyone being stopped and checked for guns by Police on the Upper West Side are about the same as being attacked by a Grizzy bear and a Polar bear on the same day. Criminals know this, they have no fear of the NYPD , they do fear other criminals who they know are armed.
Site your source, please.
“The suspect is a 19-year-old male who has three prior arrests, two for narcotics in 2023, and one for armed robbery in 2021, for which he is currently out on bail.”
Just for the armed robbery he should have been in jail.
That is what we get when the bail laws and the justice system is all skewed to the benefit of the criminal and not the victim.
Sorry, as a counterpoint, here are some facts:
“The study from John Jay College’s Data Collaborative for Justice, showed that the 2020 bail reform laws eliminating judges’ ability to impose bail for low-level crimes actually reduced the likelihood that someone would get arrested again.”
https://gothamist.com/news/study-shows-those-released-under-nys-bail-reform-laws-are-less-likely-to-get-rearrested
Armed robbery is hardly a low level crime.
The comment “There are more Illegal guns on the Upper West Side today then in anytime in history” is total hyperbole. It’s also grammatically incorrect.
In the 1970s (yes, I’m bringing up the dirty ol’ 70s) the Saturday Night Special, the name we all knew for the ubiquitous, cheap, small caliber handguns that every pimp, junkie, and dealer carried, was the scourge of the streets. Delivery guys carried them. Shopkeepers carried them. I saw kids flash them in the playground on Amsterdam Avenue near the handball courts and saw them tucked into endless waistbands and into the pockets of winter coats. Watched the guy behind the counter at the head shop on 85th and Broadway pull one out when the freak in front of me on line refused to pay and they got into a tussle over a little vial of that Locker Room popper shit people used to huff for a quick dizzy high. Kinda lost interest in buying my Bubble Yum and Pop Rocks after that.
We didn’t have the report of the West Side Rag, we had the actual report of gunshots and we heard them all the time. It was a goddamn shitshow.
They passed legislation in 1968 to get the Saturday Night Specials off the street, but it took years to make a dent. Guns are a cancer on our society, and a shooting today in our neighborhood is a tragedy. Gun violence disproportionately affects communities of color and the poor, and until we get money out of politics, no matter how many shootings and deaths there are every year, there will never be the political will in Washington to do a damn thing about about it.
Getting money out of politics is key.
exactly. the number of gun prosecutions has cratered in the city. You can have all the gun laws you want on the books. But literally no one gets prosecuted anymore.
But OPOD is saying there are more guns on the UWS, so that’s not the point you’re making about prosecutions.
Also, you can’t just stop anyone and check for gun, so OPOD has a more than skewed understanding of policing and the Bill of Rights.
“There are more Illegal guns on the Upper West Side today then in anytime in history.”
You know this how?
Heard all 3 shots. 2 in a row, one a minute or so later. Screaming. Meaning the perpetrator was chasing the victim?
Also saw a possible perpetrator running away.
One additional note: Courts have found that stop and frisk can be used in extremely limited circumstances. But with thousands of reported stops at its peak, it was obviously a violation of the law. And there’s little evidence that its use actually reduced crime.
Another shooting just now, on UES. Also near a school. 2 people shot, 2 suspects on the lose.
We need to bring back stop and frisk. There’s no other way to deal with it.
If they are afraid of getting busted on the street for the gun it will be left home under the mattress. Hooray for stop, question, and frisk. It worked.
I certainly agree with bringing back stop and frisk. The best way to deal with all of this crime though is to simply keep criminals in jail. It’s quite a simple solution.
Remember this? “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” In other words, you’d have to change the U.S. Constitution before we “bring back stop and frisk,” since it’s been found to be a violation of the Fourth Amendment.
Another way, just as unlikely, I suppose, to deal with gun crime would be to severely restrict the production, sale and storage of guns and ammunition, as other countries have done. Based on the current Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Second Amendment, though, that’s unlikely to happen either. But if they did interpret it differently, yep, there’d still be plenty of guns out there, but ultimately a reduction in the number of guns would help (especially since so many guns are stolen and used in crimes).
Is that the part after “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”?
Indeed the solution is to repeal the Second Amendment. Clearly that will take years if not decades but I see no other way, particularly as the U.S. has this insane love of guns.
Totally agree. Have much tighter enforcement around stop and frisk to make sure it is done properly then bring it back.
I have spoken to a number of people in areas that had a lot of stop and frisk (some of whom were frisked) and they are very supportive – it is like being willing to suffer through security checks at airports to know that in exchange for the minor inconvenience, they might also be keeping you safe.
I have spoken to many under 40 Black and Hispanic males, who would get “stopped and frisked” repeatedly. None of them spoke in favor of it. Just the opposite. It was extremely oppressive.
Let’s be clear that “stop and frisk” is currently legal in NYC and is used 10s of thousands of times per year. The officer just has to have reasonable cause.
What is ILLEGAL was what was done under Bloomberg, which was “stop and frisk” using racial profiling. There were close to 1 million searches yearly, overwhelmingly of young Black and Hispanic males, at its peak.
This was the very definition of a racist policy. I don’t think anyone seriously wants to bring this back.
And guess what? When it ended, first under Bloomberg and then De Blasio, crime of all types continued to go down. This process was only reversed when the pandemic started.
I think Sully Sullenberger, speaking about the recent runway incidents, says what is true here, as well: “We’ve become the victims of our own success.”
If vigilance works, then work it. Get woke about violence, before the next shot goes off.
People are only human. We aren’t stable enough for this free-for-all gun culture. That’s why we have what we deserve: chaos.
Hey. Why not just ban guns in NYC! No other country in the world allows people to walk around with them.. why America?
And :
We pay our cops seriously more to keep us safe than any other country in the world to keep us from being shot at and killed….
Something doesn’t add up!
The US Supreme Court just struck down our Sullivan Law, which stood for 100 years, that’s why.
AMAZING police response on W.68th/West End: multiple sector cars, Emergency Service Truck, southbound WEA traffic stopped, etc.
Made for some excitement on a normally sleepy-quiet street.
As they once said about choosing a NYC apartments: ‘Always Choose One That Faces the Street’
I can’t remember the last time I read the word ‘suspect’ when reading about a police action.
Is there a difference among a “possible perpetrator”, a “person of interest” and a ‘“suspect”?
Maybe it has to do with his being out on bail for another crime. Perhaps the judge who let him out can explain it.
perpetrator is the person who has committed a certain crime , possible perpetrator I suppose possibly committed a certain crime.
person of interest is believed to have information that will aid in the the solving of a crime
suspect is accused of committing a crime,
No, as the writer for the labor union of police Detectives, the words really have no shades of difference. Perpetrator, and subject, and suspect are all used interchangeably. A person of interest hasn’t been nabbed yet. In this case, they caught the guy with a 9mm on him.
A suspect is, as the word suggests, one who is suspected of committing a crime. He may or may not have been accused. “Round up the usual suspects.”
a person thought to be guilty of a crime or offense. “the police have arrested a suspect”
Round up the usual suspects is a movie quote.
And just to think that some were calling for the removal of NYPD and SCHOOL SAFETY Officers from public schools. The idiotic ideas are non ending. i guess mickey mouse was able to apprehend the suspect since some seem to not need the police. The woke politicians and NRA are putting students lives at risk. Sleepy Adam needs to step it up already, can’t continue to blame Big Bird for the current crime trends.
The Mayor can do nothing about bail reform or lowering the age. That’s Albany.
The mayor can do something about Police morale, and he can start by showing the Police some respect. By respect I mean MONEY the PBA has been without a contract or pay raise for 7 years. This is disrespectful, a ” Pro cop mayor”? This is predictiable from a guy who spent his whole life bad mouthing Police. Cops are leaving in droves and the main reason DISRESPECT.
“Chief Chell emphasized that “the shooting did not take place in the school.” ”
So school safety officers would have had no impact in this case
Perhaps the presence of school safety officers is why this shooting took place on the street instead of inside the school with hundreds of kids in the line of fire….
I know, I know, it’s Fox News. But they are reporting the victim tan to his high school (I assume in thr MLK building) and the suspect was arrested and is already back on the street.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/nyc-teen-shot-near-manhattan-high-school-broad-daylight-suspect-apprehended-bail-nypd
Where does it say he is already back on the street? It doesn’t…this is how rumors get started! You are worse than Fox News.
The shooter WAS out on bail. He’s in custody now and it’s not likely he’ll be out on bail any time soon.
Fox does not say that the suspect is already back on the street. It says that he was out on bail having been indicted for armed robbery in 2021, awaiting trial.
Do you have information that this same suspect is “already back on the street” now as we read this?
ILTUWS says shooting on west 66th street. WSR says shooting on west 68 street. TWO shootings in same neighborhood!! or sloppy reporting??? If former, we’re in trouble, if latter, some fact checking/copy editing job should be available at one of the papers.
Either way, we’re still in trouble. Just sayin’.
WSR reporting was correct.
I heard the shots and saw the suspect running away. Called 911. Was reluctant to describe the suspect because I’d be called a racist at some point.
Out on bail after “armed robbery”… And promptly, nothing done after he gets arrested 2x more.
if this is not the definition of insanity, I don’t know what is.
And of course, he promptly shoots another kid while trying to prove his manliness in the mean, mean streets of the UWS.
Let’s not forget to release him quickly so that next time can just kill someone. Maybe someone will start paying attention, amidst all the “thoughts and prayers.”
Had he gunned down some bubby outside Zabars then the UWS would start to care.
I disagree. Asians and Jews are big targets of violence (including death), in NYC , and nobody cares. Just a collective shrug of the shoulders.
Not really off topic: the suspect here is another young criminal. Adams wants to cut funding to libraries and childhood/youth programs. Those are the sorts of things that can help reduce the number of kids who become criminals later on. It’s counterproductive to cut the things that help sustain neighborhoods and their kids. Oh, and libraries benefit adults, too.
Libraries?
You got it. Libraries! They are very important for civic life.
Sounds utopian, but libraries are inconsequential to this topic. You know it.
Yes, libraries.
You know they have more than books?
Is there data to support your point? Or is it just a hypothesis?
This is a link, not to raw data, but at least to an opinion piece that refers to a number of cases and studies. The author maintains that experience has shown ways of reducing crime long-term, and many have to do with positive influences on young people.
https://onlysky.media/pzuckerman/reducing-crime-is-easy-and-we-actually-know-how/
At the same time, I hope we can get rid of the weak points of the “reformed” bail law and improve other areas of law enforcement.
These kids aren’t going to be found reading at the library, I can guarantee that. Wake up, people.
There are programs from pre-K on up to teen youth programs, some of which occur in libraries. Adams is on record as wanting to roll back the DiBlasio pre-K programs – one of the few useful things DiBlasio pushed for. It takes more than prisons to make a healthy society. We need strong civic life with things that connect young people to others in ways more positive than gang structures.
Why are you against funding libraries? Should that money go to, say, advantages for builders of luxury condo towers?
No one is advocating for prisons for the kids, please don’t twist her words.
Nothing is said about builders of luxury condos either.
Libraries are fine, but they are definitely not enough to keep these kids out of trouble. Pre-K is very useful, so Adams is in the wrong there. However he created other good programs. Not everything starts and ends with libraries. I personally love them as do my children, but to think they make a difference for troubled kids is just naive. To answer your question – use this money for more efficient targeted programs. As it is being done now. We will benefit from more of those.
Yes, more efficient targeted programs, all to the good. I mentioned libraries but did not advocate ONLY libraries. But as Westside Neighbor observes in his long post, a library can be a location for young people’s activities of many kinds.
I am advocating prison for these “kids”.
This specific kid – yes, prison.
My comment was in regards to young kids – start with pre-k to get them into a program, away from bad influences and give them a glimpse of a different world.
As well my comment was regarding usefulness of libraries – they are somewhat useful, but not for the teens already at risk.
And how do you know this? Having taught for many years, I can safely say kids of all stripes like to read, or can be “found” reading – and reading and intellectual and creative pursuits can and do avert crime
There are other things the libraries provide that aren’t reading at or only tangentially relate to reading at the library.
I don’t know where you got this information. I’m not a fan of Adams in general, but I can see what he is doing for disadvantaged kids. I have a child and lots of his classmates can now participate in free and wonderful programs such as Dream (HS preparation), free summer camps. All these programs are costly and in the past only wealthy could afford them.
I don’t know what specific programs you are talking about, but Adams created really good programs that are in place right now.
Check this out about Adams’ budget plans:
https://www.thecity.nyc/2023/1/12/23552947/fiscal-discipline-in-mayor-adams-preliminary-budget
Important fact not mentioned by the police: the shooter ran through the Lincoln Towers grounds where he was chased by a Lincoln Towers security guard who directed the responding police car to the cab the shooter had entered.
Thank you, I was wondering how they managed to get him when he was already in a cab. The security guard is a true hero
Very brave of the security guard.
I’m a bit worried for him now, he is all exposed in that booth
Just wait till the summer months. You ain’t seen nothing yet.
That’s an impressive rap sheet for nineteen. I wonder how much more impressive it will be by 21?
Suspect will not be out on bail soon, but maybe in 2 days. That’s not soon in incidences like this
So armed robbery in 2021, out on bail for that (so when exactly is the trial ?!?! It’s 2023!). And how didn’t the 2 narcotic convictions cause bail to be revoked??
There is a Pre-K on that block. Imagine what might have happened if there were dozens of four year old kids on the sidewalk at that moment. I hope that the presence of the Pre-K and the Synagogue up the street add to the possible list of charges against this idiot.
He’s not an idiot. He’s a violent criminal.
Crime was down significantly during the Bloomberg terms .. I wonder why? #stopandfriskworks
Kiss off with your stop and frisk! It’s it’s demeaning and happened to me-and I appear caucasian. The shooter was a violent criminal and shouldn’t have made bail-simple
And it continued to go down after a court found it unconstitutional. Arguing for an unconstitutional method that really didn’t do too much anyway is a mistake.
If the suspect is now 19 then presumably he was 17 in 2021 at the time of the armed robbery arrest.
So he would have been charged as a juvenile
That’s part of the problem. Along with “bail reform” they “raised the age.” The age needs to be lowered once again to try these perps as the adults they are. Enough is enough.
Why was an armed robber out on bail? Doesn’t that make this criminal “dangerous?” He should have never been on the street in the first place. Cops are doing a great job but our DA is letting criminals terrorize innocent people in the name of justice. Very backward.
It’s Albany. This is all a legislative problem.
Out on bail for a 2021 ARMED ROBBERY. I am sure those who rushed to pass bail reform to score political points are very proud of themselves. This is the face of a broken system. The shooter will be back on the street shortly. it wont end until he has racked up a few dead bodies on his belt, and even then “supervised released” will likely be approved. Move on folks, this is the new norm for NY! 🏳️
Apologies in advance for the loooong comments. The subject I believe is worth it.
Having lived in Lincoln Towers from 1971 to then end of 2019, my heart breaks learning of constant recent gun violence on the UWS and other parts of our city–often close to my old Lincoln Towers apartment where fear of guns outside my door was never a concern for me. (I do not believe for a minute those who say ‘overall violence is still lower than decades ago’)…However statistics are not what I want to focus on.
On the preventative side, we absolutely need to address positive ways to limit the current momentum of more teens choosing trouble and crime as their main “activities” and I definitely agree with Neighbor 785 and others that creating quality changes within communities will surely “grow” fewer teens who choose gangs and crime as their best options.
And yes, I taught in mixed population schools for 4 years, and have seen that giving high quality options to kids will always be a huge deterrent since those in trouble in 3rd grade will be surely the same ones in 11th grade if they are unable to easily find productive paths within a welcoming community.
As I am now living in North Riverdale and recently spent much time at the Library in Peekskill (Field Library) on a project, I was so hugely impressed I with their dynamic and busy teen activities that I photographed their colorful monthly teen activities poster on my last visit.
Copied here activities on that poster for the month of November:
Anime Club, Switch Gaming, Graphic Novel Club, Podcast Club, film nights (all in-person after school for ages 12-17). This library is open 7 days a week and at least 4 nights till 9pm. Also for teens, zoom classes on NY-529 College Savings Programs, and their teen program with active accounts on Instagram (@fieldteens) and TikTock.
BTW, Peekskill is not wealthy town…and from what I have seen, these teen program values and mandates are common in many local libraries, and are to a major extent due to the county of Westchester’s very impressive grants program and the county’s prioritizing libraries and arts in general for all populations. I believe NYC needs to do waaaaaay more on preventative and community building for teens !
Finally, on another note, I’m going to go out on a limb and say I’d be curious to know what–if anything– is being done to bring repeat offender suspects/ persons of interest, etc into any kind of rehabilitative environment during the long lag time of being out on bail for years. Do we have any schedule of follow up/ accountability, check in dates …so it is better than just crossing out fingers and hoping crime is not their only choice during the “out on bail time”.
Should there really be a rock bottom low bar of nothing being expected of persons who become suspects of additional crimes while out on bail as repeat offenders? Are we completely incapable of hiring more judges and getting a court calendar that moves in a few months instead of several years?
I believe we must envision more proactive actions than fueling the blame game.
For now, it seems to be just envisioning our growing anger, more throwing up of hands, more feelings of sadness and powerlessness, and more lives lost.
When will any of our public officials prioritize a wider vision for curbing the incidence of crime by young people making worse and worse choices, and endangering or killing their fellow humans? We must start early with high quality alternatives and pay close attention from youngsters to teens.
Many good points. And this of yours, too, deserves thought:
“I believe we must envision more proactive actions than fueling the blame game.
For now, it seems to be just envisioning our growing anger, more throwing up of hands, more feelings of sadness and powerlessness, and more lives lost.”
Your comment is long, but clearly very sensible. Thank you.
So to be perfectly clear, when it comes to illegal gun possession we should lock the door and throw away the key, but for just about every other crime, the door should be a revolving one? It’s hard to keep track these days of what crimes the NIMBY’s and liberals want to treat as “real” crime.
Youth under 18 are typically adjudicated in Family Court.
NYC enacted Raise the Age legislation several years ago – see information in State court system link.
https://nycourts.gov/CourtHelp/Criminal/RTA.shtml
Depending on the crime, pending adjudication, youth may be released to parents to participate in services or may be remanded to secure detention. Secure detention is administered by City ACS – link below
https://www.nyc.gov/site/acs/justice/juvenile-justice.page.
Keep criminals in jail where they belong!!!
Out on bail. The pretext says it all, doesn’t it?
Ah yes, let’s revisit the blatantly unconstitutional stop and frisk, in which a police officer can target a person for so many reasons, just to frisk them. Never mind that this disproportionately targeted people of color – those people should just deal with the inconvenience of being stopped in the middle of the day to submit to a search.
I feel that the majority of people commenting here don’t understand, or just disregard, the indignity and frankly unamerican aspect of such a policy. It’s disgusting.
Why is it that when people are shot or stabbed in the ABDOMEN, it is presented as the STOMACH?