A shocking incident occurred in which a female tourist was shot by a teenager who was caught stealing from a sporting goods store near Times Square in the centre of Manhattan while living in a temporary shelter for Venezuelan immigrants. According to the New York Police Department (NYPD), around 7 p.m. on the 8th, three teenagers stole clothing and sneakers from the second floor of the JD Sports Store near Times Square, and confronted a security guard in the lobby who was trying to retrieve the stolen items.
During this process, one of the three men shot the security guard. The security guard ducked to avoid the bullet, but Tagliele Ribeiro Lemos (38), a female tourist from Brazil nearby, was hit by a stray bullet. During this process, the gunman fired his gun twice at the police who rushed to the scene and were chasing him.
After issuing a wanted order, the police arrested the shooter in Yonkers around 3:30 p.m. on the 9th, the day after the incident. ABC News and others reported that the arrested shooting suspect was 15-year-old Jesus Alejandro Rivas Figueroa. Figueroa reportedly came to New York City from Venezuela in September of last year and was living in a temporary immigrant shelter at the Stratford Hotel on West 70th Street in Manhattan.
Figueroa shot the suspect with a .45-caliber pistol at the time of the crime. NYPD Patrol Chief John Chell said Figueroa was “a dangerous teenager with a .45 calibre handgun” and “had no regard for the loss of life.” Additionally, the police said Figueroa is a suspect in an armed robbery that occurred in the Bronx on the 27th of last month and another shooting that occurred in Midtown near Central Park in Manhattan. Two other teenagers who stole from the Times Square store along with Figueroa, ages 15 and 16, have been arrested by police. Figueroa and the two other suspects, both from Venezuela, attended school together in New York City. Meanwhile, Lemos, the Brazilian tourist who was injured after being shot by her, was taken to the hospital, treated, and then released.