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A video released by police shows a gunman shoot a man while two children were just a step away.
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The 24-year-old victim was shot multiple times after the incident in the Bronx, New York Thursday.
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The children were not injured, police said.
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A graphic video shows an armed man repeatedly shoot at another man on a New York sidewalk while two children just inches away desperately tried to avoid getting hit.
The footage was posted by the New York Police Department on Friday asking for tips from the public about the two men involved in the shooting on 1551 Sheridan Avenue in the Bronx. The children, a 5-year-old boy with his 10-year-old sister, were near their home when the incident happened on Thursday, according to WABC-TV.
“Yes, those are children with the victim, who were very fortunately not injured,” the department said.
The victim, a 24-year-old, was transferred to the hospital with injuries after being struck on his back and leg, an NYPD spokesperson told Insider in a statement.
“They’ll shoot anybody, at any time, in front of kids, during the day. This is what it’s turned into,” NYPD Chief of Department Rodney Harrison said, NBC New York reported. “We need our police officers out here and we’ve got to make sure we deploy more cops, especially out here in the Bronx. We’re seeing a lot of the violence going back and forth.”
A search was underway for the shooter and another man who helped him leave the scene on a scooter.
“The first individual is described as a male with sunglasses who wore all black clothing,” the police said. “The second individual is a light-skinned male who wore a white baseball cap, a red long-sleeved shirt, and dark-colored shorts.”
Gun violence in New York City has spiked since last year amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, the record number of deaths from gun violence across the country also skyrocketed.
As the summer approaches and restrictions are lifted, law enforcement has pointed to concerns about the potential violence ahead, according to the Associated Press.
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