ICYMI: Upper West Side Gunman Targeted 12-Year-Old, Police Say

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — The man accused of opening fire Tuesday outside of an Upper West Side barbershop was shooting at a 12-year-old boy, police told Patch.

Police released new photos of the suspect and a surveillance video from outside the barbershop and are asking the public to help identify the shooter. The suspect and the 12-year-old had "exchanged words," prior to the shooting, police told Patch.

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The shooting occurred Tuesday around 1:30 p.m. at the barbershop located on Columbus Avenue between West 105th and 106th streets, police said. Nobody was injured during the shooting, police said.

Surveillance video shows the suspect walking up to the barbershop, looking in through a window and then taking a few steps back into the middle of the sidewalk. The man then produces a revolver from the front of his shorts, fires one shot in the direction of the barbershop, points the gun inside again and then running off.

The owner of the barber shop and two customers were inside the barbershop at the time of the shooting, ABC 7 reported. The motive of the shooter is currently unknown, but sources told ABC 7 that a man inside was likely a target.

"There were two young men in the store, one was getting a haircut another young man entered and fired two shots. I don't know what happened, after when I saw the gun, I threw myself on the floor," the owner of the barbershop told ABC 7.

Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or 1-888-57-PISTA (74782) for Spanish. The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) and entering TIP577. All tips are confidential.

Photo by NYPD