NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – A young girl and two women were shot and wounded in Times Square on Saturday evening, police said amid a search for a person of interest.
The three were shot just before 5 p.m. near the intersection of W. 44th Street and Seventh Avenue, according to police.
A 4-year-old girl from Brooklyn was shot once in her leg, police said. A 23-year-old tourist from Rhode Island was also shot once in her leg and a 43-year-old from New Jersey was shot once in her foot.
All three victims were believed to be bystanders who don't know each other, police said. They were taken to Bellevue Hospital and were expected to survive.
At a press conference, NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said the girl was shopping for toys with her family at the time of the shooting. She was expected to undergo surgery at the hospital.
Shea said it appeared a dispute erupted between two to four men, leading to the gunfire. An officer reported hearing four to five shots, and at least three shell casings, believed to be .25 caliber, were recovered.
“It is during this dispute that at least one person pulls out a gun,” Shea said, cautioning that the information was preliminary. “It is during that gunfire that three individuals that were not involved in the initial dispute were struck.”
Video on social media shows people fleeing following the gunfire. About an hour later, the area was all but empty after it was blocked to vehicles and pedestrians.
A search was underway Saturday night for the shooter or shooters, who fled the scene. Shea said police were looking for at least one person of interest. The NYPD released surveillance footage of him.
"The perpetrators of this senseless violence are being tracked down and the NYPD will bring them to justice," Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted shortly after the shooting. "The flood of illegal guns into our city must stop."
Shea said NYPD officers have been seizing guns at an "alarming rate" over the past two years.
“How many more kids do we need to be shot before we realize that bad policies have consequences? And we need action, and we need policies regarding laws to have consequences for the arrests,” Shea said.
Shea didn't elaborate on the policies, but police officials have previously blamed bail reforms that went into effect last year for putting offenders back on the streets.
As the investigation continued, officials said people should expect traffic delays, road closures and a heavy presence of emergency personnel in Times Square.
"Avoid the area," NYC Emergency Management tweeted.
All lanes of Seventh Avenue were closed between W. 43rd Street and W. 47th Street. The police commissioner said he expected the area to be reopened late Saturday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.