A 15-year-old illegal immigrant was arrested Friday for several violent charges, including shooting at a police officer in New York City.
The suspect, Jesus Alejandro Rivas Figueroa, opened fire inside a Times Square sporting goods store Thursday night after being confronted by a security guard for attempted shoplifting. The teenager sprayed bullets in the direction of the guard before he fled into the street, according to police. One of the bullets grazed the leg of a tourist at the store, a 38-year-old woman from Brazil, who faced non-life-threatening injuries.
JUST IN: 15-year-old illegal immigrant starts crying while getting arrested after he allegedly shot a tourist and fired at police in Times Square.
Poor baby.
“He was crying. When he was apprehended, he was crying… Here he is committing these adult acts, that’s something you… pic.twitter.com/0GJgvvOJsY
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) February 10, 2024
New York Police Department officials said the teenager was from Venezuela and had been staying at a Manhattan migrant shelter after arriving in New York last fall. Rivas Figueroa is one of the hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants who have come to the city during the Biden administration, having crossed into the United States at the southern border.
A police source said that he is also a suspect in a January armed robbery in the Bronx, as well as another shooting in Midtown in which no one was hurt. Investigators could still be seen inside the Yonkers home where he was arrested late Friday night.
“If you think you can threaten the lives of the very people who keep us safe if you think you can put others at deadly risk and get away with it, then think again. We will never stop pursuing you. We will find you, and we will arrest you,” NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban said.
Police said the mayhem spilled onto the streets of Times Square, forcing people to run and duck for cover.
“He turns once, fires towards our officer, and our officer takes his gun out. He cannot return fire; there are too many people in his way. As the suspect goes through the cut between the buildings, he’s running, he takes his gun out under his armpit, he fires again at our officer,” NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell said in a news briefing Friday.
“I gotta tell you, if one of those bullets hit our cop last night, this is a whole different conversation we’re having today. Our cop showed great restraint not to fire their weapon into crowded New Yorkers,” Chell continued.
The tourist who was struck by the stray bullet has been released from the hospital and is in good spirits.
