NEW YORK — A man suspected of shooting three people in New York’s Times Square, including a 4-year-old girl, was arrested Wednesday in Florida, police said.
Farrakhan Muhammad was taken into custody in a McDonald’s parking lot near Jacksonville, the official said, four days after the shooting Saturday that rattled the Big Apple tourist haven known as the “Crossroads of the World.”
“While there is no joy today, there is justice,” New York City Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said.
Muhammad, 31, was listed Wednesday in an inmate database for the sheriff’s office in Bradford County, Fla. Information on a lawyer who could speak on his behalf was not immediately available.
NYPD officials say 31-year-old Farrakhan Muhammad —the alleged gunman in Saturday's Times Square shooting — was apprehended by the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force in a McDonald's parking lot in Starke, Florida, located just outside Jacksonville. https://t.co/2YNvaCHxl7 pic.twitter.com/GSJ1XJjWlL
— WCBS Newsradio 880 (@wcbs880) May 12, 2021
Muhammad is suspected of wounding three people with stray bullets during a dispute in Times Square at about 5 p.m. Saturday.
Wendy Magrinat, a 23-year-old tourist visiting from Rhode Island, was shot in the leg. A 43-year-old woman from New Jersey was shot in the foot. The 4-year-old girl, from Brooklyn, was also shot in the leg.
Dramatic video captured an NYPD officer running while carrying an injured child, during the frantic moments after a shooting in Times Square on Saturday night. https://t.co/JXgCXxHsId pic.twitter.com/AbYsCce6aP
— Eyewitness News (@ABC7NY) May 9, 2021
Muhammad was apparently aiming for his brother, but investigators haven’t yet pinpointed the motive, chief of detectives James Essig said. He said the brothers apparently both sold CDs in the Times Square area.
Police released videos and photos of Muhammad and asked the public for help tracking him down. His family made a public plea for him to turn himself in.
Officers identified Muhammad as a suspect within hours and soon realized he was heading south, Essig said.
Video then captured Muhammad and a woman, believed to be his girlfriend, buying dog food and other supplies at a store in Fayetteville, N.C. Meanwhile, investigators realized he had connections to some addresses in Florida.
A U.S. Marshals Service fugitive task force caught up with the two on Wednesday as they were eating lunch in a car outside a McDonald’s in Starke, Fla., police said. Two dogs were also in the car.
Muhammad had shaved off some of his hair, Essig said.
The woman has not been arrested on any charges, but police noted their investigation was continuing.
