'She didn't cry once': Hero NYPD cop reveals how she saved toddler hit by stray bullet in Times Square: Injured mother says she thought she was going to die and slams people for filming her and not helping
The NYPD cop filmed saving the life of a wounded toddler hit by a Times Square gunman's stray bullet has described the moment she ran the child to safety.
Officer Alyssa Vogel is being hailed a hero after a video showed her clutching Skye Martinez as the shots rang out Saturday.
Farrakhan Muhammad, 31, is the prime suspect in the shooting, which left three people including four-year-old Martinez wounded, and hundreds of terrified shoppers and tourists fleeing for their lives, The New York Post reports.
Officer Vogel said Sunday: 'I kept telling her [the child's mom] to breathe, that I know what she's going through because I have a baby myself. It was very difficult for her, very traumatic. She saw her daughter just get shot.
'I kept telling her to breathe and that her daughter was going to be OK. I kept trying to calm her down because she was obviously very scared.
Former school teacher Vogel joined the NYPD four years ago. Her father, husband and brother are also cops. She told The New York Post: 'This little girl was so strong. She didn't even cry once except when we were putting the tourniquet on. She screamed because it's very painful.
'I just picked her up so I could run to the ambulance. She was just saying she wanted her mom. Her mom was running right behind me, but she was calling for her mother.'
Vogel said she then ran into the hospital with the injured child, adding: 'I just wanted to join the police department and help people.'
Police are still hunting for the suspect, who reportedly sells CDs for a living. He was allegedly aiming for his brother, who later gave his name to authorities.
One of those injured, Wendy Magrinat, 23, says onlookers began filming her with their mobile phones rather than help in the immediate aftermath of the shooting.
She was on a sightseeing trip from Rhode Island when she was shot in the leg while standing with her husband Yoel, their two-year-old daughter Elise, and her mother, stepfather and eight-year-old sister.
Magrinat said she started screaming: 'I don't want to die, please help me! The pain was too much, and I dropped to the floor.
'I understand people get in shock. But if you're in shock, you shouldn't be recording. But that's how people are right now.'
A hero NYPD officer clutches a young child who has just been shot in Times Square on Saturday and spirits them to safety
Officer Alyssa Vogel, pictured, was named as the NYPD officer who ran Skye Martinez to safety
One of the victims, Wendy Magrinat, 23, from Rhode Island, told how onlookers began filming as she pleaded for help after being shot in the leg
The suspected gunman leaving the scene shortly after the Times Square shooting on Saturday, in which two women and a young child were shot
Detectives made the connection to suspect Muhammad after they approached a man on West 31st St in Manhattan on Sunday believing that he looked like him, The Post reported. 'I'm his brother,' the man told the detectives.
Police have since released Muhammad's mugshot and are appealing for help in locating him. Muhammad was arrested last year on suspicion of assault.
He allegedly opened fire in the crowded tourist zone in midtown Manhattan after getting into a heated argument with his brother, sending hundreds of people fleeing for their lives.
The shooting occurred in front of the theater that hosts the hit musical Lion King, which is currently closed due to Covid restrictions.
Victims have since been describing the scenes of panic and confusion as they tried to evade the gunfire.
Police lock down the scene following a shooting on Saturday in Times Square
The shooting occurred in front of the theater that hosts the hit musical Lion King (seen in the background above as police lock down the scene
Danae Romero, 16, said she was waiting in the queue at the same store with her four-year-old niece Skye when the shooting began.
Romero said the pair ran for their lives - but described how Skye was struck by a stray bullet.
'She didn't feel anything. Even when we noticed when we were at the corner, she wasn't crying,' Romero told the Post.
Romero said Skye, who is from Brooklyn, had managed to stay calm throughout the ordeal, and was in a stable condition in hospital.
'She's pretty tough, I guess,' Romero told the Post. 'She's always been happy. There aren't many times when she cries and stuff,' she said.
She said her sister, Skye's mother, was in a state of shock after the shooting.
New York City police officers stand guard after Saturday's shooting
Three innocent bystanders, including a mother and her four-year-old girl, were struck by stray bullets in Times Square in broad daylight
Andrew Yang has pledged to establish a new 'anti-violence plain clothes unit to reduce guns and gun violence'. 'The police will be key to our recovery,' he said.
NYPD officers responded to the shooting at 4.55pm on Saturday near the intersection of West 44th Street and Seventh Avenue in Manhattan
She called on police to arrest the gunman quickly.
'What if he ends up hurting some more people? 'Cause if he's able to do it in a place where there's so much people like Times Square and not care, what's going to stop him from doing it again?' she said in an interview with the Post.
A third victim, New Jersey woman, 43-year-old Marcela Aldana, was shot in the foot. All victims are expected to recover.
The NYPD released pictures of the man suspected of carrying out the shooting.
Addressing the Times Square shooting, NYC mayoral candidate Andrew Yang said public safety was 'paramount' and promised to establish a new 'anti-violence plain clothes unit to reduce guns and gun violence'.
'The police will be key to our recovery,' he said.
It comes as gun violence soars in New York City, and marks the second time in a month that bullets have flown in Times Square, the crowded tourist hotspot
The public is asked to avoid the area at this time and expect traffic delays and road closures
On Saturday, NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said none of the victims were related or known to each other.
Shea said Magrinet and her family had traveled from Rhode Island to Manhattan to visit the Statue of Liberty, but finding the ferry closed decided to visit Times Square instead.
A traffic camera on the scene caught the moment that the crowd of tourists fled in terror as the shots rang out.
NYPD investigators recovered three shell casings at the scene, which appear to be .25 caliber, Commissioner Shea said.
The shooting unfolded after two to four men got into a dispute, and at least one of the men pulled out a gun and began firing, Shea said.
He said that none of the victims who were shot were involved in the dispute, and that they all appeared to be innocent bystanders.
It is the latest shooting to rock the tourist hotspot at gun violence soars in New York City
NYPD officers canvas the scene for evidence after the shooting on Saturday in Times Square
Mayor Bill de Blasio reacted to the shooting on Twitter, saying he was glad the victims were in stable condition.
'The perpetrators of this senseless violence are being tracked down and the NYPD will bring them to justice,' he tweeted. 'The flood of illegal guns into our city must stop.'
De Blasio, who was celebrating his 60th birthday on Saturday, did not join the police commissioner for a press conference at the shooting scene.
Asked about de Blasio's remarks, Commissioner Shea said that his officers have been taking guns off the streets at an 'alarming rate over the past two years.'
'It's time now that we have consequences for those,' he added, seeming to refer to bail reform policies that see many suspects, including those caught with illegal firearms, walk free without posting cash bond.
'How many more kids do we need to be shot before we realize that bad policies have consequences?' said Shea. 'We need action, and we need policies regarding laws to have consequences.'
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