Boy, 10, Shot in Leg Near Yankee Stadium

A 10-year-old boy was shot in the leg in the Bronx Monday evening, and the shooter is still being sought by police.

The boy was struck by a bullet at about 6:30 p.m. at the western edge of Franz Sigel Park near 157th Street and Gerard Avenue, just a few blocks from Yankee Stadium.

Witnesses said two women were arguing on the street when a man suddenly appeared with a gun and opened fire. The child was struck, and taken to Lincoln Hospital by private means.

Neighbors said the boy, who has not been identified, loves baseball and has been playing for years. Tony Melendez, a neighborhood baseball coach, was stunned hear one of his young players was hit.

"In the blink of an eye, anything can happen," he said. "Little kids always around here, playing."

Some residents in the neighborhood said the shooting made them anxious after a violent stretch of shootings across New York City. Last week, a turf war among street vendors on Gerard Avenue in the Bronx, also close to Yankee Stadium, turned violent when one of them shot two others. In July, four-year-old Lloyd Morgan was shot and killed in July after being struck by a bullet in a gun battle, one of several young children struck by bullets in the past several months.

"This is the worst summer I can remember, as far as children getting hit," said Sidney Flores, a volunteer for Community Board 4.