BY LINCOLN ANDERSON | Police on Tuesday confirmed that the weapon used in a shooting of a 32-year-old man on Avenue C last week was a real gun, not a BB gun, as was initially incorrectly reported — and also that an arrest has been made.
Detective Sophia Mason, a police spokesperson, told The Village Sun that the weapon was a .22-caliber gun.
In addition, Mason reported that on Sat., Jan. 18, around 12:50 p.m., police arrested Tyshawn Morris, 21, of Albany, N.Y., in connection with the shooting.
Morris was charged with attempted murder, assault, criminal possession of a loaded firearm, criminal possession of a defaced weapon — a weapon with its manufacturer’s serial number scratched off, removed or concealed — and criminal possession of a firearm.
Police said the victim — who was shot in the torso — walked into a local hospital for treatment about two hours after the shooting.
Details about the shooting had been murky, from what type of weapon was used to how many people were actually shot. Avenue C between 11th and 13th Sts. was closed off for hours after the shooting as police canvassed the area for ballistics and video-surveillance footage. (See top photo by Chris Ryan.)
As of this Tuesday, police had not provided a motive for the shooting or said whether it might have been gang-related. Initial police reports said the two men had been engaged in a dispute when the gunman shot the other guy. It wasn’t clear if the two individuals knew each other.
In addition, there was no new information about the 44-year-old woman who suffered a painful abrasion wound to her left thigh outside of the C-Town supermarket, at Avenue C and 12th St., at the same time that the male victim was shot. Police have said this was not a gunshot wound per se. What caused the abrasion, however, was not immediately clear.
As previously reported by The Village Sun, the woman is said to work at East Village Towers as a home health aide.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, the Citizen real-time crime-and-safety app incorrectly reported that the weapon had been a BB gun and that the woman had been struck in the left eye — not the left thigh. The two body parts sound alike, though, perhaps explaining the confusion.
The Village Sun will provide updates on this story as more information becomes available.
Last Thursday’s East Village shooting is the second recent incident involving small-caliber .22 handguns in the neighborhood. On Thurs., Jan. 9, a recently released ex-con on parole used a .22 handgun to fatally shoot a man outside the Hayatay hookah lounge, at Avenue A and E. Seventh St. Police on patrol nearby in Tompkins Square Park responded and fatally shot the gunman after he reportedly refused their orders to get on the ground.
According to police, two .22-caliber handguns were recovered at the scene — one from underneath the shooter’s body and the second next to his victim.
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