New York Times Square Shooting Knicks Parade World Cup

Several gunshots were fired in New York’s Times Square on Thursday afternoon, sending tourists and bystanders running for cover, police said, with a suspect chased down shortly afterwards. The city’s Fire Department said one person was taken to hospital, though no further details on their condition were released.

The incident took place at around 3:40 pm local time on Thursday, shortly after a parade celebrating the New York Knicks’ NBA championship win moved through lower Manhattan. Officials had deployed police in numbers for the event, securing what amounted to the NYPD’s biggest single event deployment to date a parade that, by most accounts, went off largely without incident.

The area was also unusually crowded with visitors in the city for the FIFA World Cup, which began the previous week. Videos shared on social media captured the moment shots rang out, with footage showing tourists and bystanders scrambling for cover as the sound of gunfire spread through the area.

Witnesses said people were seen running for cover as the suspect or suspects fled down the street, pursued by police officers who had already been on patrol in the area. The shooting occurred only a few metres from a parked police vehicle. Police have not yet released further details on the suspect or a possible motive.

Thursday’s incident follows an earlier shooting in the same area on 14 June, when celebrations over the Knicks’ NBA title their first in 53 years turned disorderly. According to police sources, that incident unfolded at around 2am near the corner of Broadway and West 43rd Street, where two suspects fired handguns into the crowd. Investigators later said the shots had not been fired in celebration but appeared to be aimed at a specific target.

A 17-year-old boy was struck in the foot during that incident. With the crowd too dense for an ambulance to reach him, police instead placed him in a patrol car and drove him to Bellevue Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition. Three people were taken into custody in connection with that shooting.

That night’s celebrations also saw wider disorder. Police said a total of five school buses, which had been used to shuttle fans to World Cup matches in New Jersey, were set on fire or destroyed, and 63 people were arrested in total, with ten police officers injured.

The back-to-back incidents come as New York hosts large crowds for the ongoing FIFA World Cup, with several matches being played at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Times Square, one of the city’s most visited tourist sites, has now seen gunfire twice within five days, raising questions about crowd security as the tournament continues and further public celebrations are expected.

With inputs from AP, NBC News and CBS New York

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