Two teenagers were injured in a cop-involved shooting Monday evening, after NYPD officers fired their weapons to break up a Harlem gunfight involving the victims and an 18-year-old attempted murderer who was free due to a controversial law.
Officers responded to an unrelated 911 call at the Wagner House around 5:30 p.m. after hearing multiple shots fired on 123rd Street and seeing a teenager fire a gun at other youths, according to NYPD officials.
According to police, one officer fired his weapon at the suspect before pursuing the teen on foot through Harlem’s streets.
Two 15-year-old males were shot in the left leg and knee. Both were admitted to Harlem Hospital in stable condition.
Cops are investigating whether the teens were hit by officer bullets or by shooters’ gunfire.
Officers arrested two alleged teenage shooters at the scene, including the 15-year-old who was shot in the leg, according to police.
Police also arrested Damian Calhoun, 18, and found a firearm loaded with a high capacity magazine in his bag, according to police officials.
Calhoun pleaded guilty to attempted murder on July 23 for charges stemming from an incident last year when he was 17, the NYPD announced at a press conference Monday night.
“Because of the Raise the Age law, he was released from custody in July and was back out on the streets,” said Chief of Patrol Phillip Rivera.
Calhoun was scheduled to appear in court again in November for his next hearing in the case, according to cops.
The unidentified 15-year-old alleged shooter is no stranger to law enforcement. Rivera said he has an open case in Manhattan for a violent felony.
According to sources, two NYPD officers were taken to New York Presbyterian Hospital for tinnitus treatment.
The NYPD said surveillance video from the incident showed two groups of youths arguing on the street before opening fire on each other.
A shirtless 15-year-old was carted off into an ambulance on a stretcher, flashing gang signs to reporters as a group of young people appeared to taunt him, according to footage captured 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 informed the crowd.
NYPD Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch recently blamed the rise in youth violence in the Big Apple on the “Raise the Age” law.
The number of children under the age of 18 arrested with a gun increased by a whopping 136% between 2018 and 2024, according to the top cop, who spoke alongside Mayor Eric Adams at a crime statistics briefing at City Hall.
