Two teens were wounded in a cop-involved shooting Monday evening after NYPD officers fired their weapons to stop a Harlem gunfight involving the victims and an 18-year-old attempted murderer who was out free due to a controversial law.
Officers responded to an unrelated 911 call at the Wagner House at around 5:30 p.m. when they heard numerous shots fired on 123rd Street and saw a teenager blasting off a gun at other youths, NYPD officials said.
NYPD officers stopped a gunfight on the streets of Harlem that ended with two teens shot. James Keivom
New York City Police Department Chief of Patrol Philip Rivera is joined by other NYPD officials during a press conference Monday night. James Keivom
One cop fired his weapon at the suspect and then he and a partner chased the teen down in a foot pursuit on the streets of Harlem, police said.
Two 15-year-old males suffered gunshot wounds — one to the left leg, the other to the left knee. Both were taken to Harlem Hospital in stable condition.
Cops are investigating whether the teens were shot by the officer’s bullets or hit by gunfire from the shooters.
The officers took two alleged teenage shooters into custody at the scene, including the 15-year-old who was shot in the leg, cops said.
Police also arrested 18-year-old Damian Calhoun and recovered a firearm loaded with a high capacity magazine in his bag, police officials said.
Calhoun had pleaded guilty to attempted murder on July 23 for charges stemming from an incident last year when he was 17 years old, the NYPD revealed at a press conference Monday night.
One suspect was found to have a gun loaded with a high capacity magazine, which cops showed to media on Monday. James Keivom
“Because of Raise the Age law, he was released from custody in July and was back out on the streets,” Chief of Patrol Phillip Rivera said at the press conference.
Calhoun was due back in court in November for his next hearing in that case, cops said.
The unidentified 15-year-old alleged shooter is also no stranger to police. He has an open pending case in Manhattan for a violent felony, Rivera said.
Two NYPD officers were taken to New York Presbyterian Hospital for tinnitus, sources said.
Investigators at the scene in Harlem. James Keivom
Surveillance video of the incident showed two groups of youths arguing on the street and then opening fire on each other, the NYPD said.
Wild video from the scene showed a shirtless 15-year-old being carted off into an ambulance on a stretcher — flashing gang signs to reporters as a cadre of young people appear to taunt him, according to footage taken by Freedom News TV.
“Once again we are here discussing the sad realities of youth violence and the consequences of our laws that have allowed some teens who commit violent crimes to evade meaningful accountability,” Rivera said.
NYPD police commissioner Jessica Tisch has recently blamed the skyrocketing of youth violence in the Big Apple over the contentions “Raise the Age” law.
The number of kids under the age of 18 busted with a gun increased by a whopping 136% between 2018 and 2024, the top cop said alongside Mayor Eric Adams at a crime stats briefing held at City Hall.