NEW YORK (WBCS 880) — The man suspected of opening fire in Times Square on Saturday afternoon, injuring three people including a 4-year-old girl, was taken into custody Wednesday morning, NYPD officials confirmed.
Farrakhan Muhammad, 31, was apprehended as he was eating lunch in his car at a McDonald's parking lot in Florida, bringing an end to the four-day long manhunt.
NYPD Chief James Essig noted Muhammad, who had changed his appearance by shaving his hair, was captured by U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force in Starke, Florida, located just outside Jacksonville. They believe the suspect was fleeing to a location in the state and was being transported there by a woman, who is believed to be his girlfriend.
The woman is not in police custody and is not facing charges, but she is considered a person of interest in the case. He also notes that no weapon has been recovered yet.
Authorities tracked Muhammad heading south after he was spotted on surveillance video in North Carolina, where he stopped at a Walmart for supplies, including dog food for two dogs that were traveling with the pair.
Authorities allege Muhammad fired a weapon in the middle of a busy intersection near Times Square around 5 p.m. on Saturday.
Essig confirmed that the intended target of the shooting was Muhammad’s brother, who helped police in identifying the suspect.
While the brother was not injured, three others were struck by gunfire: a 23-year-old woman from Rhode Island, a 43-year-old woman from New Jersey and a 4-year-old girl from Brooklyn. All are expected to recover.
NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said the girl was buying toys with her family at the time. The NYPD officer who rescued the child, Officer Alyssa Vogel, also noted that the girl was extremely brave during the entire ordeal, and only cried when officers secured a tourniquet around her leg.
On Wednesday, Shea said that he visited the girl in the hospital and promised her family that they would capture the gunman.
“I went to Bellevue Hospital to the pediatric emergency room and there I spoke to the young girl’s father as the father and mother were consoling their child, about to enter surgery,” Shea said. “At the time I had the opportunity to speak to the father to tell him that we were sorry and that we would do everything within our power to get justice for his little girl. Well today we fulfilled that promise and I knew we would fulfill that promise because of the work of the greatest detectives in the world.”
Muhammad was taken into custody without incident and is being held by the Starke Police Department. He will eventually be brought to New York to face charges.
The NYPD ramped up patrols in Times Square following the shooting.
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