A suspected gang member who was allegedly involved in a shooting in the Bronx that sent two children diving for cover has been arrested by New York police, officials said.
Michael Lopez, 27, was arrested on Friday at his stepfather’s home in Harlem, New York.
He faces charges of attempted murder, assault, reckless endangerment, and weapons charges – with further charges anticipated.
If convicted, Mr Lopez could face up a maximum of 25 years in prison.
“It took days for the suspect to be apprehended. But what we really needed was for the public to come to us immediately to let us know who the suspect was, so that we could get him off the streets as soon as possible,” Bronx district attorney Darcel Clark said.
Mr Lopez has connections to the “Make it Happen Boyz” gang, and he already had a history of crimes related to guns and violence in New York City, said chief of detectives James Essig during a news conference on Friday.
The man was on parole until 2023 on a 2014 attempted murder charge. He also had several open cases against him from 2020, including a knifepoint robbery in the transit system.
“How does an individual, released to parole, get arrested for knifepoint robbery and is walking around on the streets?” NYPD commissioner Dermot Shea said. “And is that justice for those little kids? So I would ask, where are the laws for those kids? Because somehow they’ve been forgotten in this.”
Police said they were still looking for another suspect who was believed to be Mr Lopez’s accomplice during the shooting incident.
Surveillance footage captured the moment on 17 June when a suspect opened fire in the Bronx.
Two children, a 10-year-old girl and her five-year-old brother, were sent running for cover and somehow avoided being shot during the incident.
The suspect fired a dozen shots in total, with the intended target a 24-year-old man.
The victim sustained multiple gunshot wounds to the leg and lower back. He was taken to the hospital and is expected to survive from his injuries.
Neither child was physically injured during the incident.
