A 75-year-old cyclist was struck in the face by a stray bullet, leaving him “dripping with blood” during a shooting that also injured a teen. The harrowing incident happened Thursday in Queens, NYC in broad daylight.
The bloody incident occurred around 4:30 p.m. on 243 Street and Weller Avenue in Rosedale, when two gunmen on scooters allegedly opened fire, targeting a 17-year-old rival. Instead, they hit his 14-year-old girlfriend in the leg and struck the bike rider in the jaw, according to sources and police.
According to police, the senior citizen was collecting cans on his bike when an errant bullet struck him in the face.
The elderly cyclist was “dripping with blood from his face,” witnesses recalled to CBS New York. “He was telling the ladies, ‘Call an ambulance! Call an ambulance,” an eyewitness said of the injured 75-year-old.
The Elderly Cyclist’s Son Calls His Father Being Struck By a Stray Bullet in the Face ‘Sickening’
On Friday, his son described the shooting as “sickening.”
“It’s pretty traumatizing,” he told The New York Post. He mentioned that his father was still under sedation at the hospital.
The victim’s son also bemoaned NYC crime.
“You don’t think you would be in this situation. You see it all the time on the news, but it’s something we’re seeing too often on the news right now,” he admitted. “It’s sickening.”
Meanwhile, gun violence rattled nearby locals.
“That’s scary. That’s really scary. I take care of my grandmother and she’s 100 years old,” a shocked resident told CBS New York.
The NYC denizen couldn’t help but imagine their grandmother suffering the same fate as the cyclist.
“That’s all I need, for her to walk out into the living room and a shot comes through a window and hits her,” they added.
Police reported that both victims were in stable condition following the bullet-riddled chaos.
Authorities discovered the scooter involved in the violent incident, leading to the arrest of three teenage boys aged 13, 14, and 15, as reported by sources.
Meanwhile, reports of the incident were met with cynicism and snark from onlookers on social media.
“Wait, I thought guns weren’t allowed in nyc? How did this happen?”, one X user sarcastically wrote in regards to the news. “Nothing to see here. NYC crime’s down,” another X user added.
“This is why I don’t exercise,’ a third X user quipped.