Man shot with pellet gun during Midtown rush — one of three similar incidents in NYC within hours
A pedestrian was shot in the wrist with a Gel Blaster pellet gun in Manhattan on Monday — telling The Post he believes it was random and lamenting, “You never know in this crazy town.’’
The incident was one of three similar attacks in the city within hours and included another man struck in the back while walking in Midtown during the morning rush, cops said.
“This is the kind of thing where I could have easily been killed — if that shoots me in the head or some weird place, who knows?’’ said Allen Stern, 62, who was hit in the wrist while walking in the Lower East Side.
Stern, who lives in the neighborhood, said he had just gone to morning prayer at a local synagogue when the incident happened around 7:30 a.m.
Stern said he believes it was a random strike, as he and his three friends were about a block away from the building when they strolled past two young-looking guys.
“We were walking, like usual, it’s a nice morning, we’re all talking,” Stern said. “And all of a sudden these guys come down the block with the [Gel Blaster] … They were very quiet, not a word.”
Without a sound, the suspects fired off at least two rounds — one of which struck Stern in the wrist.
“I’ve still got the mark — the pellet made a perfect circle,” Stern said.
The duo fled north on Clinton Street, cops said.
“You never know in this crazy town,’’ Stern said. “People got nothing to do. … What do they expect to get from this? I don’t know.
“Maybe they get their kicks out of it, and maybe they were high on s–t,” he continued. “I just hope that they think twice before doing damage … do something constructive. That’s what the kids need to hear.”
Cops said they have no known motive for the attack, nor for two other similar ones that occurred overnight.
Police haven’t said if the incidents appear to be related.
About 45 minutes after Stern was attacked, a 47-year-old man was walking south on Fifth Avenue near 35th Street in Manhattan when he felt something hit him from behind, cops said.
He had been shot with a Gel Blaster pellet gun, too, although this time in the back, cops said.
The man confronted three bike-riding suspects nearby, and a fight ensued, cops said.
The suspects ended up punching and kicking the victim, then hopping on their bikes and fleeing north on Fifth Avenue, according to police.
The third incident happened Monday night when a 51-year-old, on-duty fare collection worker from the MTA was shot in the back and elbow with a BB gun in The Bronx as he was checking his vehicle’s tires on Valentine Avenue, cops said.
The 11 p.m. attack left the man with slight injuries — and a shattered driver’s side window, courtesy of a metal BB that missed its mark.
