Three Bystanders Injured In Shoot Out

Three Bystanders Injured In Shoot Out
Photo by Edwin Soto

Two men were arrested last Wednesday night for committing a triple shooting that left a four-year-old girl and two men in the hospital. According to police, the gunmen James Thomas, 57, and Fredrick Fielder, 33, have been charged with assault and reckless endangerment. The shooting happened on Wednesday, July 12 around 11:31 a.m. on East 167th Street near Webster Avenue in Morrisania. Thomas who is on lifetime parole for a 1983 murder, and Fielder, a Bloods gang member with 12 prior arrests, were allegedly conspiring to defraud Medicaid when a disagreement erupted about the scam. Police said two groups of people converged at the location for an arranged meeting to hash out their differences until a fight broke out. Two men in the group allegedly drew guns and fired 17 shots, but some of the bullets struck a nearby little girl and two men. Thomas was shot in the back and Fielder was hit in both legs. Their injuries were not considered life-threatening. The little girl and two men injured in the shoot out are all expected to make full recoveries.

Photo by Edwin Soto