After six people were shot, one fatally, at Mt. Eden subway station on Mt. Eden Avenue on Monday evening, Feb. 12, police said a second person has been arrested in connection with the incident.

 

On Thursday, March 14, police said that pursuant to an ongoing investigation an unnamed 14-year-old male was arrested earlier that day at 1 p.m. in the 44th Precinct. They said he’s been charged with murder, four counts of attempted murder, and criminal possession of a weapon.

 

An unnamed 16-year-old male youth had previously been arrested in connection with the shooting. Meanwhile Democratic Congressman Ritchie Torres (NY-15) and others continue to push for the passage of legislation to stop the so-called iron pipeline and to curb gun violence across the country.

 

As reported, police had been asking the public for help identifying and locating the suspects seen in the attached photo [further below] who they said were sought in connection with what they said at the time was an ongoing investigation.

 

Meanwhile, the latest arrest comes as news of another subway shooting broke on Thursday evening around 5 p.m. on March 14, when a man was shot aboard an A train in Brooklyn following a dispute, and as terrified passengers called frantically for help.

 

During a press conference held at the Mt. Eden subway station on the day of the February 12 shooting, NYPD Chief of Transit Michael Kemper said that at around 4.47 p.m., two unidentified male individuals were on the northbound 4 train platform of the Mt. Eden train station when they displayed guns and fired multiple rounds, striking six victims.

 

He said at the time that police believed the shooting resulted from a dispute which had started aboard the subway. According to police, the individuals fled on foot out of the station, northbound on Jerome Avenue toward Featherbed Lane.

“Upon arrival, officers discovered six individuals with gunshot wounds,” a police spokesperson said. “Four males, aged 35, 28, 15, and 71, in addition to two females, aged 29 and 14, were shot at the location.” 

 

Police said the 35-year-old male was transported to St. Barnabas Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased and the other victims were taken to local area hospitals in the vicinity in stable condition. They said there are no arrests at this time and the investigation remains ongoing.

 

Police said the first person sought was described as male, has a light complexion and is believed to be in his ’20s. They said he was last seen wearing a black jacket, a black, hooded sweatshirt, a black ski mask, blue ripped jeans, and white/red Air Jordan sneakers.

 

Police said the second person sought was also described as male, has a dark complexion, and is also believed to be in his ’20s. They said he was last seen wearing a black Northface jacket, a gray, hooded sweatshirt, a black, ski mask, dark pants, and black/yellow Air Jordan sneakers.

On Thursday, Feb. 15, pursuant to an ongoing investigation, police said the 16-year-old male youth was arrested at around 10.40 a.m. They said he was charged with one count of murder, five counts of attempted murder, and one count of criminal possession of a weapon.

 

Norwood News spoke to a number of residents in the area following the incident. Speaking in Spanish, local resident, Alejandro Guzman, estimated to be in his 30s or 40s, said of the incident, “It’s very dangerous. People are afraid. There needs to be more security on the subways.  The police need to pay more attention to delinquency in the streets and gun possession, and focus less on the  issuance of tickets and the confiscation of scooters used by young delivery workers.”

 

Guzman said the police were doing their work in terms of trying to stop gang activity but said more focus needed to be placed on this in his opinion. He alleged that, in contrast, young delivery workers were sometimes jailed for two days for activities related to their use of scooters.

 

Asked if it was the first time in his experience, a fatal shooting had occurred so publicly in the area, Guzman said there had been a lot of shootings but doesn’t believe they were fatal.

 

One young man accompanying his mother, appeared to be shaken by the incident and declined to speak with us. His mother, who declined to be identified, said another shooting had happened at the train station a long time ago.

 

The local 44th precinct is home to the Grand Concourse, Bronx Terminal Market, and Yankee Stadium. The latest major crime statistics for the precinct are included further below.

“That’s really the second time. You know like it’s a lot of things happening everywhere,” she said. “Young people, they wander [inaudible] ….. you know they do all this stuff. I’m an immigrant, but you know, I’m not racist but a lot of things happen because all the immigrants…”

 

Referring to the recent attack by some immigrants on police at Times Square, the woman said, “You see what’s going on with the police that they try… That’s not fair because they’re working and they protect us. They [those who assault others] don’t think about what they do when they do things like that?” She added, “They [police] give their lives for us. So how you gonna do something like that?”

 

We also spoke to some other parties about government policy around crime. [A further story will follow.]

Meanwhile, Torres, who represents Mt. Eden, among many other Bronx neighborhoods stretching from the north to the south of the borough, reacted to the latest mass shooting, saying, “Following the mass shooting in The Bronx, I am calling upon both the Justice Department and ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives) to enhance their enforcement efforts to crack down on the Iron Pipeline, which causes places like The Bronx to be flooded with firearms.”

 

In July 2023, Torres introduced the Angellyh Yambo Gun Free Zone Law. Torres said that according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the use of ghost guns in U.S. crimes has soared by more than 1,000% since 2017. If passed, the Act would ban the transfer and possession of ghost guns and expand gun-free school zones from 1,000 ft. to 5,000 ft. for all public, private, and charter schools and early childhood education centers. See our previous coverage on the congressman’s efforts in this regard here.

 

More recently, as reported, coinciding loosely with Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 15 and the late Angellyh Yambo’s birthday, which falls on Jan. 24, the Angellyh Yambo Foundation (AYF), which launched last year on the first anniversary of the teen’s death, held its 1st Youth Gun Violence Prevention Summit on Friday, Jan. 19, in the South Bronx.

 

Meanwhile, District 15 City Councilman Oswald Feliz (C.D. 15) said Bronx residents deserved to live free from gun violence. “In January alone, NYPD seized nearly 600 firearms. Too many people feeling comfortable carrying these weapons — to the detriment of already-marginalized communities!” he said.

 

She added, “We send our condolences to the family and loved ones of the commuter who lost his life. No one deserves to lose their life senselessly anywhere and certainly while using our subway system. We send prayers of healing and recovery to those commuters who were injured.”

Gibson continued, “Our office remains in contact with our elected officials, NYPD, and the MTA and will continue to advocate for our residents and families to be safe. Public safety is an expectation that all New Yorkers deserve. This violence should never be normalized. We encourage anyone with information on last night’s shooting in Mount Eden to please contact the authorities at 1-800-577-TIPS. All calls are kept confidential.”

 

On Wednesday, Feb. 14, one person was shot dead and 22 were injured during a mass shooting at the Kansas City Chiefs homecoming parade after their recent Superbowl win against the San Francisco 49ers, in Kansas City, police said.

Year to date, as of Feb. 11, there had been 31 shootings in The Bronx, according to NYPD data, up from 28 during the same period last year. Meanwhile, 40 victims were shot year-to-date as of the same date across the borough, compared to 37 during the same period last year.

 

Meanwhile, for the 28-day period preceding Feb. 11, there were 20 shootings in the borough, compared to 22 during the same period last year. Meanwhile, during the same period, as of Feb. 11, 27 victims were shot in The Bronx, compared to 31 during the same period last year.

 

According to the NYPD, as of Feb. 15 and since Jan. 1, 2022, 14,338 guns have been removed from New York City streets, 747 of those since Jan. 1.

 

A person arrested and charged with a crime is deemed innocent unless and until convicted in a court of law.

Anyone with information regarding the Bronx shooting 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/, on Twitter @NYPDTips.

All calls are strictly confidential.