Two young men were hospitalized after they were shot inside Wendy’s restaurant in Fordham Manor  on Saturday evening, April 5, police said.

 

A police spokeswoman said the shooting took place around 7.24 p.m. inside 342 East Fordham Road, which is the address for Wendy’s on Fordham Road. They said the first young man who was shot was 26 years of age and he was shot in the chest and back. “He’s transported to St. Barnabas, and stable,” the police spokeswoman said.

She said the second victim, a 27-year-old man, was shot in the arm and the thigh. “He was also taken to St. Barnabas and is in stable condition,” she said.

 

We asked about unconfirmed reports of a potential third gunshot victim who may have fled the scene on a motorcycle.  The spokesperson said, “No, I don’t see anything for a third individual anywhere.”

Asked if there were any suspects, the spokesperson said, “I don’t have any information on the suspect, just that they fled the scene. I’m not even sure how they fled, but I guess on foot, but I can’t confirm.”

Asked if the two victims were customers or employees, the spokeswoman said, “I’m not sure if they had purchased anything at the time but they were in a Wendys.” Asked if she could confirm if they were employees, she said in part, “Oh no, no, I can’t tell. I’m not sure if they were there as customers or if they were working.”

Norwood News later spoke to one man who was passing Wendy’s in the early hours of Sunday morning when the restaurant was seen shuttered, and asked if he knew anything about the shooting. He said he had not heard about it, and told us he was just out of hospital. He had a bandaged hand, and was carrying some plastic bags.

 

A police car was also seen seemingly on patrol in the area and at one point, parked on E Fordham Road also in the early hours of Sunday morning, not far from Wendy’s.

 

On Sunday, April 6, the NYPD confirmed there were no arrests and the investigation remains ongoing. Wendys was seen back open on Sunday, but a sign on the door advised customers that it was taking orders to go only through a front window. No indoor dining was available.

 

We spoke to one staff member who didn’t have any comment on the incident other than saying that everyone (staff members) were ok.

 

As of March 30, both shooting victims and shooting incidents in the 46 Precinct, which covers the affected Wendys, were down both year to date and during the 28 days preceding March 30. This precinct covers some or all of Fordham, University Heights, Morris Heights and Mt. Hope.

Year-to-date shooting incidents as of March 30 were down 75% compared to the same timeframe last year, while year-to-date shooting victims as of March 30 were also down 77.8% compared to the same timeframe last year.

 

Meanwhile, shootings in the 28-day period ending March 30 were down 80%, while shooting victim numbers in the 28-day period ending March 30 were also down 83.3%.

Click here, here,  to read some of our recent coverage of other local shootings, and here for a related story.

 

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/, or on X @NYPDTips.

All calls are strictly confidential.