A gunman opened fire in a Bronx hospital waiting room on Tuesday afternoon in the latest shocking episode of New York City crime, shooting another man four times before fleeing.
The unidentified suspect was waiting to be seen by nurses when he ‘exchanged looks’ with another man in the waiting room at Jacobi Hospital.
Harrowing video of the shooting shows the gunman standing to look at the victim then opening fire without warning, right in front of the reception desk.
He then fled, leaving the gunman standing in disbelief while blood spurted from his arm.
The gunman remains armed and at large. The NYPD has not offered any kind of description for him.
The unidentified suspect was waiting to be seen by nurses when he ‘exchanged looks’ with another man in the waiting room at Jacobi Hospital in the Bronx on Tuesday at 12.30pm
Mayor Eric Adams called the shooting ‘reprehensible’ and said he would visit the victim soon. It remains unclear if the men knew each other
The victim survived and was treated at the scene for a gunshot wound to the arm. It’s unclear if anyone else was harmed or if the pair knew each other before the incident.
It is the latest worrying incident in an increasingly violent city where four police officers were shot in as many days last week.
After the shooting, NYC Health and Hospitals called it a ‘cowardly act’.
Mayor Eric Adams said he would visit the victim shortly.
‘I’ve been briefed on this and will be visiting with the victim shortly.
‘This was a reprehensible act, one made even worse by the fact that it happened in a place where New Yorkers go for safety and to heal.’
On Monday, a day before the hospital shooting, Adams vowed a crackdown on gun violence, claiming he would protect New Yorkers from the ‘sea of violence’ they feel is engulfing them.
‘I won’t let that happen,’ he vowed.
Police unions and residents say it’s already too late. They are however embracing Adams, who has promised to be tougher than his predecessor.
Crime in New York City has soared over the last two years. It is up in almost every major category
The number of shootings across New York City has soared in the last two years, thanks to a number of devastating changes to bail reform and budgets.
Soft-on-crime former Mayor Bill de Blasio encouraged the reforms and the new District Attorney, Alvin Bragg, has announced plans to be even softer on criminals.
In his New York, crimes like armed robbery will be downgraded to petit larceny.
He has also vowed to do away with cash bond wherever possible, following in the footsteps of crime-ravaged San Francisco.
Yesterday, Pat Lynch, the head of the NYC Police Benevolent Association, the largest police union, said they would embrace having an ‘ally’ in City Hall in Adams.
‘For years, we’ve been calling for real solutions to our violent crime crisis. Mayor Adams has acknowledged the problem and outlined the beginnings of a plan.
‘The message on the streets is that there are no consequences for carrying and using illegal guns… it has to change immediately because we’ve already lost more than we can bear.’
Tuesday’s shooting in the Bronx was within hours of a fourth cop dying from gunshot wounds inflicted in the line of duty.
NYPD officer Wilbert Mora died on Tuesday morning, four days after an ambush attack where his partner, rookie cop Jason Rivera, was shot dead.
Rivera and Mora are the first cops to be shot dead on the job since 2017.
Wilbert Mora, 27, (right) died on Tuesday – four days after the attack. His partner Jason Rivera, 22 (left) was killed in the shooting