Surveillance video shows the terrifying moment shots rang out on a busy Midtown Manhattan street Sunday, just a few blocks from the Empire State Building, leaving three people wounded.
The NYPD released the video along with the identities of two men, Diouf Makhtar, 30, and Brian Johnson, 29, and their photos. Police are asking for the pubic’s help in locating them for questioning.
The shooting followed an argument that began outside of a liquor store. The video shows a bustling New York City street, suddenly people scurry for cover as a man opens fire in the distance.
Police are looking for these two men for questioning; Diouf Makhtar (left) 30-year-old male described as approximately 6ft tall and 170lbs with black dreadlocks and Brian Johnson (right) 29-year-old male described as approximately 6ft 3inch and 170lbs, short black hair
Two men who appear to be wounded are seen on the ground outside a liquor store in midtown
Two people duck into a doorway, others dart into stores and one victim is seen dropping to the ground on West 31st Street between 5th Avenue and Broadway as the scene unfolded around 4:40pm.
Cops say the argument started over a drug deal gone wrong.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said Wednesday that Makhtar is believed responsible for the gunfire after getting into an argument with a customer.
He opened fire during the argument.
‘Someone wasn’t happy with the product. They went back and forth,’ Boyce said, according to the Daily News. ‘One of the males who was shot went to see the male who was the shooter.’
Makhtar has about 30 prior arrests, while his alleged accomplice Johnson has 17, one including a dealing marijuana charge.
Boyce added while there are still outsdoor drug sales, they have dropped.
‘We still have narcotics transactions in the street – not anywhere where it used to be,’ he said.
NYPD cops responded to the scene of a Sunday shooting in midtown Manhattan on 31st Street
The shooting happened between 5th and Broadway, just a few blocks from the Empire State Building
The three victims, including a tourist, were taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition
The New York Posts identifies the three injured men as Abdoulaye Kane, 25, Ahmend Kabia, 43, and Adrian Burduja, 29, who was riding his bike and was not the intended target but a bystander.
Police sources say one of the other men was also an innocent bystander.
Kabia was shot in the shoulder, Kane suffered a gunshot wound to the arm and Burduja, a Romanian tourist, was shot in the back.
They were taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition.
CBS New York reports Kane was treated and released.
A man reportedly pulled a gun following an argument with another man outside a liquor store, police said at a press conference.
The gunman, who was with another man, bolted after the shooting, according to police.
Police were unable to locate them Sunday night in a search of the area.
No arrests have been made.
One person in the vicinity of the shooting told NBC New York: ‘I was passing by and I heard four shots. I was hiding like everybody; everybody was running around.’