Police in the Bronx have made a third and final arrest in a shooting that left a five-year-old girl grazed by a bullet outside a deli in the Longwood neighborhood, bringing a measure of resolution to a case that had rattled the community. Investigators say everyone now charged in connection with the gunfire is a teenager, with the latest suspect, a 17-year-old, taken into custody and placed behind bars.
The shooting dates back to May, when gunfire erupted outside a deli on Southern Boulevard in the Longwood section of the borough. Caught in the path of the bullets was a young girl who had nothing to do with the confrontation. She was grazed on the right side of her head and, according to police, was hurt entirely unintentionally, an innocent bystander struck as rounds flew through a busy stretch of the neighborhood.
The case has been built steadily over the weeks that followed. Two teenagers, aged 16 and 15, were arrested back in May in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. The arrest of the 17-year-old now completes the group, with police describing him as the third and final suspect they had been seeking in connection with the incident outside the deli.
All three now face a serious set of charges. Each is accused of attempted murder, assault and criminal possession of a weapon, counts that reflect the gravity of opening fire in a public place and the near-tragic outcome for the young girl who was struck. The charges signal that authorities intend to treat the shooting as a deliberate and dangerous act rather than a momentary lapse.
For residents, the case has underscored the danger that stray gunfire poses to the most vulnerable. A child of five, out near a neighborhood deli, became the unintended casualty of a dispute between others. That she survived with only a graze wound to the head rather than a far graver injury has offered a small measure of relief in an otherwise alarming episode for the community.
With all three suspects now in custody, the focus shifts to the courts, where the teenagers will have to answer to the charges brought against them. The arrests bring the investigation to a close after a young child was caught in the crossfire, and they follow weeks of anxiety among neighbors worried about gun violence spilling onto the streets around them.