Police: Teen shot in Bronx schoolyard involved in cab driver robberies
CROTONA, Bronx (WABC) -- A young teenager is recovering after he was shot in a Bronx schoolyard, and police say the victim was involved in a string of other crimes in the area.
Investigators are looking for evidence after someone fired several rounds around 10:20 p.m. Monday in the schoolyard of the School of Science and Applied Learning on Prospect Avenue near East 179th Street in Crotona.
The 13-year-old boy was shot in the chest and taken to St. Barnabas Hospital in a private Jeep. He's listed in serious but stable condition, and police believe he was the intended target.
"I'm not surprised, honestly, I'm not surprised," school custodian Alida Michelina said. "I knew something like this was going to happen, and it's not over. I have a guarantee it's not over."
Michelina says that despite the principal putting up new gates, teens routinely break into the schoolyard late at night.
Just a few days ago, police put out pictures of boys wanted in a string of cab driver robberies right in the same neighborhood.
They were allegedly robbing the drivers of cash, cell phones and GPS units.
Police believe the victim Monday night was involved in those robberies and has been arrested for two incidents on June 17. They are still searching for the other suspects in the cab robberies.
As for the shooting, the gunman has not yet been captured.
Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
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