ALLEGED GANG MEMBER PLEADS GUILTY TO ATTEMPTED MURDER FOR SHOOTING MAN IN BROADLIGHT IN FRONT OF TWO CHILDREN

 

Defendant Will Be Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison in March; Video of Young Siblings Cowering from Gunshots Went Viral 

 Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that an alleged gang member from Manhattan has pleaded guilty to Attempted Murder in the second-degree for shooting at a Bronx man as two children ran for their lives on a Mount Eden street in broad daylight.

 District Attorney Clark said, “The defendant went up to a Bronx man and fired a dozen shots. A 13-year-old girl and her five-year-old brother on their way to a store were caught between the defendant and his target. Images of the helpless, terrified children, who held one another as the hail of bullets flew next to them, shocked the city and the world. The defendant has been held accountable for the horrendous shooting that injured the man and endangered the children. This plea will spare the children from testifying in court and reliving the trauma.”

 District Attorney Clark said the defendant, Michael Lopez, 28, last of 1430 Amsterdam Avenue, Manhattan, pleaded guilty to Attempted Murder in the second degree today before Bronx Supreme Court Justice Ralph Fabrizio. The defendant will be sentenced to 15 years in prison and five years’ post-release supervision, with a waiver of right to appeal, on March 7, 2022.

 According to the investigation, at 4:43 p.m. on June 17, 2021 near 1551 Sheridan Avenue, the defendant got off a scooter and chased a 24-year-old man up the block, firing at least 12 shots at him. Surveillance video of the incident shows Lopez’s target running into a 13-year-old girl and her five-year-old brother, knocking them to the ground. The defendant continued to fire shots at the man at close range next to the children as the girl shielded her brother. The man was struck once in the back and once in each leg, leaving him with nerve damage to his legs. He is still unable to walk and is undergoing treatment. The children and other innocent bystanders were not injured.

 The defendant was arrested on June 25, 2021. During his plea appearance today, the defendant admitted he had a firearm and shot the man with the intent to kill him that day.

 District Attorney Clark thanked NYPD Detective Curtis Cato of the 44th Precinct for his work in the investigation.