Times Square shooting suspect caught in Florida

The man accused in a shooting in New York City’s Times Square that injured three bystanders, including a 4-year-old girl, has been captured in Florida, law enforcement officials said Wednesday.

Farrakhan Muhammad was identified as the suspect in the Saturday afternoon shooting on West 45th Street and 7th Avenue. Senior New York City Police Department officials said detectives think he was trying to shoot his brother but missed, hitting the pedestrians in the busy tourist hub.

Detectives tracked Muhammad by checking cameras that showed him leaving Times Square, going to a hotel, changing clothes and heading out with his girlfriend, two law enforcement officials said Wednesday afternoon.

Muhammad and the unidentified woman were spotted in North Carolina on Tuesday, according to authorities. New information led officials to the pair at a McDonald’s near Jacksonville, Florida, on Wednesday, bringing to an end a dayslong search for the suspected shooter.

Bradford County Sheriff’s Office Col. Brad Smith said the arrest was “uneventful.” Muhammad is being held at the Bradford County jail.

Muhammad’s girlfriend was being questioned to see if she knew he was wanted and whether she was knowingly helping him hide, the two law enforcement officials said.

Police released video of a person of interest hours after Skye Martinez was struck in the leg Saturday while shopping for toys with her family. Wendy Magrinat, 23, was struck in a thigh, and Mạrcela Aldana, 43, was hit in a foot, officials said.

By Tuesday, the department identified Muhammad as the suspect in the shooting and circulated his photo on social media.

Details about the charges against Muhammad and when he’ll be returned to New York were not immediately available.

source: nbcnews.com