The 15-year-old boy shot in his back on a Queens subway train fell to the ground “with a look of tremendous shock and pain” — only for the shooter to erase that look by viciously pumping a second bullet into the adolescent’s face, prosecutors said as they charged the gunman’s accomplice.
The grisly details of the shooting — which was recorded on an MTA surveillance camera on the blood-soaked subway car — were recounted at a Thursday night court arraignment, at which the gunman’s 16-year-old alleged accomplice was ordered held without bail as the case continues.
The apprehended suspect, whose name is not being released because he is underage, was nabbed Wednesday afternoon for Monday’s clash on a Manhattan-bound A train at it was approaching the 80th St. station in Ozone Park.
The teen had the gun the shooter used on Monday and is also being charged for shooting and wounding the same victim back in February.
Prosecutors charged the teen with multiple counts of weapons possession for carrying the gun. He’s also charged with criminal mischief.
The 15-year-old victim was shot during the 6 p.m. clash on the Queens subway train. He remains paralyzed in Jamaica Hospital on a ventilator to assist his breathing, according to relatives worried he may never fully recover.
Queens Assistant District Attorney Kevin Timpone said the 16-year-old defendant and the shooter were riding the train when the victim — who recognized the teen from the prior shooting — ran up and started fighting with him.
As the three brawled on the packed rush-hour train, the shooter “lifted the pants leg of this defendant, removed a firearm, pointed at the back of the (victim) and fired,” Timpone said.
When the victim fell to the floor of the train car, the shooter “pointed the gun at (the victim’s) face and fired again and fled the area together with this defendant,” the prosecutor added. “At this point, the complainant became immobile and had streams of blood spurting out of (him).”
“This was an unacceptable incident,” Mayor Mamdani said in a statement Monday. “Violence like this has no place on our subway system, and my administration is committed to doing everything in our power to make every New Yorker — especially children — safe on their daily commutes.”
Monday’s shooting caused a mass panic on the subway car, with straphangers stampeding toward the exits as the train entered the station.
The bullet that hit the 15-year-old boy in the back “lodged in his spine,” Timpone said. “At this point in time, he is paralyzed from the waist down because of the actions of this defendant walking around Queens County with a gun used in this shooting on his ankle.”
The 16-year-old suspect has been arrested six other times, including the prior shooting involving this same victim.
After he was arrested for shooting the 15-year-old victim in the leg in February, he was enrolled in an Intensive Community Monitoring Program that required him not to leave home, except for going back and forth to school, and to keep “an exemplary school attendance record.” However, he was only in school eight days during the month of April, Timpone added.
The teen is facing attempted murder charges for the February shooting, officials said.
“This defendant has a complete lack of respect for authority and total inability to follow the orders of this court,” Timpone said, asking the judge to remand the teen to custody as the prosecution continues.
The teen’s sister and mother were in the courtroom’s gallery as Judge Srividya Pappachan ordered him held without bail.
“Why is he facing all these charges when he isn’t even the shooter?” the mom asked. “My son is innocent.”
“He was assaulted. They are trying to frame him for this shooting when he was attacked by this boy on the train,” she added. “I saw the (MTA) video. They showed it to me down at the precinct, and my son’s face was covered in blood.”
Law enforcement sources say the 15-year-old victim has been linked to multiple robbery patterns and has a criminal record that includes numerous arrests.
The shooting comes as the NYPD fights teen gun violence. So far this year through April 19, 29 of the city’s 201 shooting victims have been under age 18, accounting for 14% of the victims, according to the NYPD.
Monday’s suspected shooter is still being sought. Cops released surveillance images of him and are asking the public’s help in identifying and tracking him down.
Anyone with information about the suspect or his whereabouts is asked to call NYPD Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.
