A group of four New York teens are being hunted for shooting two people in the face with pellets from a BB gun in two separate incidents in the Bronx.
Police released a video of one of the attacks by the teen suspects where they were seen shooting and injuring a 73-year-old male worker at a fruit stand earlier this month.
Another reported incident only a few days later involved a 37-year-old male conductor who was shot in a subway station.
‘It’s like a Knockout Game, but with a BB gun,’ a police source told the New York Daily News. The ‘Knockout Game’ term refers to a 2013 trend where attackers were knocking strangers out by punching them in the face.
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A group of four teens were captured loitering on the sidewalk on November 3 on White Plains Road at E. 219th St. in Olinville, Bronx
One of the teen suspects was seen shooting an elderly 73-year-old male fruit-stand worker while another recorded the incident on their cell phone
The four suspects shortly fled the scene after as the elderly worker sustained a cut to the face
Subway worker Trevor Thomas, 37, was also shot and cut in the face after the teen suspects shot him at the E. 219th St. station just days later
In the NYPD video released Wednesday, the footage captured the moment the four teens shot the elderly fruit-stand worker on the night of November 3 on White Plains Road at E. 219th St. in Olinville.
The young suspects were seen loitering on the sidewalk near the fruit stand at around 10:50 p.m.
Shortly after, the one of the teens in a dark hoodie is seen pointing a BB gun at the worker while another suspect in a gray hoodie records it on his cellphone.
The two teens and their fellow accomplices are then seen running off the sidewalk and down the street.
The worker sustained a cut to the face and was taken to Jacobi Hospital, where he was found in stable condition.
The Bronx shootings were reported on White Plains Road at 10:50pm on November 3 and at the E. 219th St. subway station at around 9pm on November 8
The string of shooting incidents was compared to the 2013 ‘Knockout Game’ trend where attackers would randomly punch victims in the face
The second attack occurred at around 9 p.m. on November 8 at the southbound No. 2 platform at the E. 219th St. subway station.
One of the suspects wearing dark clothing opened fire on conductor Trevor Thomas, according to TWU Local 100.
Thomas reported that he had heard a pop and then felt a stinging sensation in his nose after the shot had cut him in the face.
He was taken to St Barnabas Hospital where he was found to be in stable condition.
‘It could have been worse,’ Thomas told PIX11. ‘I was just scared and traumatized I wouldn’t be here to tell the story today.’
The BB gun pellet had remained in his nose until it could be removed by a specialist, according to the union.
‘This is a heinous attack on a transit worker which underscores the need for greater protections and stronger laws to keep our members safe,’ RTO Vice President Eric Loegel told Fox News.
‘We’re all very lucky this conductor is doing OK, but it easily could have been worse.
‘The union demands the assailant be brought to justice.’
The NYPD are still investigating the string of incidents and are requesting anyone with more information to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS.
DailyMail.com reached out to the NYPD for comment.
Gun violence in the Bronx borough has significantly increased with 28 percent more shootings reported this year as compared to last.
The acts of violence have been linked to teens living in the area which has prompted Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark to request they be charged with gun violence in criminal court.
Any person under the age of 18 that is caught with a gun has been required to report to family court, which Clark is trying to change, according to New York State law.
‘We’re working day and night to put evidence together to build a case against somebody, but we build the case it goes to Family Court and they’re not held accountable,’ Clark told ABC.
‘We’re working day and night to put evidence together to build a case against somebody, but we build the case it goes to family court and they’re not held accountable. Then what are we doing? It’s like we’re not doing our job.’
Three muggers were captured shooting and killing Jonathan Pena, 32, and injuring his 46-year-old friend in the Mount Eden section of the Bronx late Saturday afternoon
In 2019, the State Legislature had raised the age of criminal responsibility to the age of 18.
Clark believes this has allowed young teens more freedom to tout weapons without a fear of being prosecuted.
‘When prevention doesn’t work, prosecution has to happen,’ she said.
‘And people need to know that if you make that decision to pick up a gun and just carry it around or shoot somebody or kill somebody. There are consequences.’
This is not the first series of violent incidents reported in New York City this month.
A group of three muggers had shot and killed 32-year-old Jonathan Pena as well as injured his 46-year-old friend in the Mount Eden section of the Bronx late Saturday afternoon.
Two of the muggers pointed pistols at the victim, one augmented with a green laser sight and another with what appears to be a high-capacity drum magazine, surveillance video shows.
The third stickup man then rushed over to the victims, who raised their hands in the air, and ripped a gold chain away from Pena. As the robbers were distracted with the chain, the other victim tried to flee inside a nearby restaurant.
The muggers then opened fire with both guns, shooting wildly on the 1400 block of Macombs Road and hitting both victims. The trio of crooks was last seen fleeing northbound on Macombs Road in a black Mercedes-Benz sedan.
Pena was transported by private means to Bronx Lebanon Hospital where he was pronounced dead police said. Paramedics transported the 46-year-old male victim to Lincoln Hospital in stable condition.
With the rise of overall crime up to 1.9 percent, an 8.4 percent increase was recorded for felony assaults, 1.9 percent for rape and 2.9 for robbery
Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark is requesting teen criminals face a real court after the rise of violent crime in the borough
NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea says bail reform is to blame for the Big Apple’s unrelenting crime wave. He is above at Memorial Ceremony at One Police Plaza in New York on November 15
Shea noted that less and less criminals are being held at Rikers Island
Another incident involved a man bursting into a kosher bagel store in Queens and demanding that it take down its Israeli flags and close, or he’d ‘burn the building down.’
The suspect faces aggravated harassment charges and police are offering a $3,500 reward to anyone with more information.
The rise in general NYC crime has been attributed to the steep decline in the population at jail complex Rikers Island.
NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea slammed the population drop as well as bail reform for letting suspects roam the streets after being released.
He noted that the number of suspects being released is evident in the decline in inmates at Rikers Island as there are about 5,400 inmates currently, while there were almost 6,100 a month ago, according to the New York Post.
According to recent New York crime statistics, there has been a rise in crimes linked to felony assaults, rape and robbery.
With the rise of overall crime up to 1.9 percent, an 8.4 percent increase was recorded for felony assaults, 1.9 percent for rape and 2.9 for robbery.