A 32-year-old man was shot and wounded in front of his parents by a stranger he accidentally bumped on a Manhattan street early Thursday, according to police.
The victim and his parents were heading to the Hell’s Kitchen Mercedes-Benz dealership to service his car at around 6:15 a.m., cops said.
“The dealership wasn’t open yet, so they decided to go for a walk, try to get some coffee,” said NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny.
The family was headed back to the dealership when a man running to catch the M31 bus bumped into the victim on W. 52nd St. near 11th Ave., cops said.
The victim’s father pleaded with his son to “let it go” as the two men argued, Kenny said.
“Words were exchanged,” Kenny said. “[But] both parties continued on their way.”
The gunman got on the bus, but before it pulled away he hopped off and whipped out a gun, cops said.
“At some point, the [victim] now realizes the [man’s] following him and (the gunman) lets three rounds go,” Kenny said.
The victim was blasted once in the upper back with a .22-caliber gun, Kenny said. His shocked parents were not hurt.
An EMT who lives across the street from the incident said he dashed to the victim’s aid.
“I heard three shots, guaranteed — Pop! Pop! Pop!” T.J. Sinni, 53, told the Daily News. “I guarantee they weren’t firecrackers. I heard somebody screaming, and there was a lady saying, ‘Somebody call the police!'”
The victim was shaking and looked like he was going to faint as he was standing, Sinni said, adding that he urged the man to lie down on his side.
“I turned him around and lifted up his shirt. I could tell the wound was from a .22,” Sinni recounted. “I told him, ‘Wait. Help is on the way.'”
Medics rushed the victim to Mount Sinai Morningside.
Cops initially believed the victim was wounded during a robbery but later determined the shooting was a result of the senseless argument.
Later Thursday, the victim came back to the Mercedes dealership with his parents to pick up his S-class sedan, workers there said.
“You don’t expect someone to come back to pick up their car after they’ve been (shot),” dealership employee Franco Savo told The News.
“I couldn’t believe it. He was still with his hospital gown on. He looked like he was in a great deal of pain,” said another worker.
The gunman, described as a short, light-skinned man between 5-foot-2 and 5-foot-5, was last seen running down W. 52nd St. and has not been caught, cops said.
