NYC shooting suspect who narrowly missed two children ID'd as gang member on parole, police say
He has multiple arrests, including for an alleged knife-point robbery, police said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A gang member on parole for attempted murder was identified Friday in connection with a brazen shooting against a rival on a New York City sidewalk while narrowly missing two young siblings as he unleashed a hail of gunfire.
Michael Lopez, 27, was taken into custody at his stepfather's home in East Harlem and faces charges of attempted murder, assault, reckless endangerment and criminal use of a firearm, among others, in the June 17 shooting in the Bronx, the New York Police Department said in a news conference.
The incident was caught on video and sparked outcry as two siblings – a 13-year-old girl and her 5-year-old brother – were knocked to the ground by Lopez's intended target as he was fleeing on foot.
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The three became tangled as Lopez, wearing all black, fired multiple shots, seemingly without regard for the children, police said. Miraculously, neither child was hit.
"Kill him! Kill him!" an accomplice yelled to Lopez, witnesses told the Daily News.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"This heartwrenching video was seen all over the world, and now I fear that the catchphrase is that ‘The Bronx is bleeding,’" Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said. "These children now are obviously suffering from… the trauma of being almost killed and barely and narrowly escaping death."
Investigators found Lopez after reviewing surveillance video footage and a photo of him at a train station. As he was being walked out of a police precinct in handcuffs, he remained silent. He was expected to make a court appearance Friday night or Saturday, police said.
NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig said Lopez admitted to being the person in a photo taken during the shooting. Investigators are still looking for his alleged accomplice, who helped Lopez escape on a scooter.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Lopez, a Harlem resident, has five prior arrests, including for a January 2020 knife-point robbery that is still an active case and a 2011 gun charge for which he served prison time, the NYPD said.
Michael Lopez, 27, is charged in a June 17 shooting in which he allegedly opened fire on a man and narrowly missing two children on a New York City street. (NYPD)
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He was convicted of attempted murder in 2015 and sentenced to three to five years in prison. He served 2.5 years before he was released on parole, authorities said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Multiple times convicted. Multiple times released to parole," said NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea. "I think the main question we all should be asking is how does an individual released to parole getting arrested for knife-point robbery and is walking around on the streets. And is that justice for those little kids? So I would ask ‘Where is the laws for those kids?' because somehow they've been forgotten in this.’"
Lopez faces up to 25 years in prison.