© Provided by Washington Examiner A 23-year-old mother, who was one of three people wounded in a Saturday shooting at Times Square in New York City, said she remembers begging for her life amid the chaos.
Wendy Magrinat of Rhode Island said she was in the city to celebrate Mother's Day with her mother, sister, and other family members when a fight between several men resulted in one of them opening fire into a crowd around 4:55 p.m. near West 44th Street and 7th Avenue.
"I felt really dizzy, and I was losing blood, and I just started screaming, 'I got shot! I got shot! I don't want to die!" Magrinat told the New York Post. "'I have a 2-year-old, please get my daughter to safety! I have a 2-year-old - I don't wanna die!'"
THREE PEOPLE SHOT IN TIMES SQUARE
Magrinat added that she saw bystanders filming on their cellphones instead of trying to help the victims. The bullet she was struck with reportedly remains lodged in her leg.
"I was screaming . 'Please help me!' - and people were just recording, they weren't helping," Magrinat said.
Two other victims suffered injuries from the shooting, a 4-year-old girl and a 43-year-old woman from New Jersey. The girl was identified by NBC News as Skye Martinez, who was struck in the leg, and the New Jersey woman is reported to be M?rcela Aldana, who was hit in the foot.
As of Sunday, the suspect remains at large.
Authorities were unable to recover a gun at the scene but did find three shell casings, according to a report by ABC 7. A police presence remained in the Times Square area into Saturday night.
New York City Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said it was too early to say what caused the argument but said the shooting was "instantaneous."
At least 463 people have been shot in the city since the start of the year, up from 239 people shot over the same time period in 2019 and 259 in 2020, according to the New York Times, citing police data.
"It worries you when it happens at somewhere as public as Times Square," Rosario Duran, who was visiting the city from Chicago, told the outlet.
Mayor Bill de Blasio blamed the incident on illegal guns coming into the city and urged that the perpetrators be found.
"Thankfully these innocent bystanders are in stable condition. The perpetrators of this senseless violence are being tracked down and the NYPD will bring them to justice. The flood of illegal guns into our city must stop," de Blasio tweeted.
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The New York Police Department did not immediately respond to the Washington Examiner's request for comment.
Tags: News, New York, New York City, Police, shootings, Gun Violence, guns
Original Author: Mica Soellner
Original Location: Young mother recalls begging for life during Times Square shooting