Manhunt For Times Square Shooting Suspect Continues

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — Police continued to search Monday for the man accused of firing wildly at another man in Times Square on Saturday, missing his target but hitting three people, including a young child.

Saturday afternoon's shooting rattled Midtown, forcing authorities to evacuate the pedestrian hub as they searched for the suspect. The injured included a 23-year-old woman visiting from Rhode Island, a 43-year-old woman from New Jersey and a four-year-old girl from Brooklyn who was set to undergo surgery after being shot in the leg.

All three had been released from the hospital by Monday morning, Mayor Bill de Blasio said.

On Monday, multiple outlets identified the suspect as 32-year-old Farrakhan Muhammad, who sold CDs in Times Square and was trying to shoot his brother, according to the New York Times.

WANTED in connection to shooting three people near West 44th Street and 7th Avenue in Manhattan on May 8, 2021. @NYPDDetectives need anyone with information about the identity or whereabouts of this individual to contact @NYPDTips at #800577TIPS. All calls are anonymous. pic.twitter.com/qciBGCR6AK
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) May 9, 2021

Police shared surveillance footage of the alleged assailant, asking anyone with information to come forward. The NYPD also released dramatic body-camera video, showing officers tending to the victims and rushing the four-year-old girl to an ambulance.

The shooting has been seized upon by candidates for office, including mayoral front-runners Eric Adams and Andrew Yang, who both said it showed that the city could not afford to defund the police.

In the tense moments after Saturday's shooting in Times Square, Officer Vogel, from @NYPDMTN, was directed to a child who was shot, exclaiming — "There's a baby?" She quickly applied a tourniquet & rushed the 4-year-old girl to a nearby ambulance. pic.twitter.com/6oX12VL26q
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) May 10, 2021

Skeptics of increased policing, meanwhile, pointed out that officers were unable to stop the shooting despite Times Square being one of the city's most heavily policed areas.

De Blasio called the shooting "horrible and unacceptable," and called on Congress to pass legislation to "stop the flow of guns into New York City."

Previous coverage: 3 Shot In Times Square, Including Child; Gunman On Loose: NYPD