The NYPD has released surveillance video of a suspect wanted on an attempted murder charge for allegedly opening fire on a 14-year-old boy as he boarded an MTA bus in Harlem last week.
Police say the suspect fired two shots as the boy boarded an M1 bus shortly before 10 a.m. a week ago. The victim suffered a graze wound to his head. The surveillance footage shows the suspect open fire from the sidewalk and run off.
Police sources have said they do not believe that the mid-morning shooting on East 139th Street near Lenox Avenue was random.
NYPD Inspector Peter Fiorillo said that the shooting "after viewing some video, I can say right now, it looks intentional to me."
Officials have also said they're looking into whether the shooting was gang-related. Police sources told NBC New York that the teen was being watched and stalked when he stepped onto the bus, which is when the shooter rushed at him and fired.
Police officials have said the boy is expected to be OK. There was no immediate update on his condition Thursday.
Get Tri-state area news delivered to your inbox.> Sign up for NBC New York's News Headlines newsletter.
News 4 obtained a photo of the bus that showed a clear bullet hole in the driver's side window. Another bullet hit protective plastic, with a metal bar stopping the bullet and possibly saving the MTA driver's life.
Local
The driver of the bus is 39 years old and has had 4 1/2 years on the job, MTA President Craig Cipriano said. He said his "heart goes out" to that driver, who was said to have suffered a minor injury to his left hand along with emotional trauma.
"The bus operator barrier, the metal bar on the bus operator barrier stopped one of the bullets. Which otherwise could have had really serious consequences," said Cipriano.
Advocates describe the case as yet another example of the gun violence that has plagued the city the last year and a half.
"He was shot at and he was shot at at his head. What that says to us in this work is someone was trying to take his life, so I had to have that conversation with his mother at the hospital," said Iesha Sekou of Street Corner Resources, a community group working to stop gun violence.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.