Authorities claimed a stray bullet struck a Kansas man Wednesday while he was on vacation in New York City close to Times Square, the Associated Press reported.
The 44-year-old man, identified as Chris Ruby, was hit in the shoulder by the stray bullet, and was transported to Bellevue Hospital where his condition is stable, police said, according to the New York Daily News. Law enforcement said the incident occurred Wednesday at around 2 a.m. in the morning, and a police spokesperson believe the man was not the intended target of the shot, the Associated Press reported.
The Kansas native said he was returning to his hotel from Tuesday night’s Major League Baseball game between the New York Mets and the Philadelphia Phillies when shots, one of which hit the man, were fired, the Daily News reported.
UPDATE: Man, 21, charged after stray bullet hits Kansas tourist near Times Squarehttps://t.co/DSJjbAOS8U pic.twitter.com/Ce1Ujafi1i
— 1010 WINS (@1010WINS) April 7, 2021
“I was having such a great time until this happened,” Ruby said, according to ABC7. “All those New York souvenirs I have, (now) I don’t want to look at them.” (RELATED: 20-Year-Old Tourist Killed By Gun Violence In Brooklyn)
After the bullet struck Ruby, he ran inside a smoke shop and told the worker to call an ambulance. The worker reportedly did not believe Ruby until Ruby showed him his bloody shirt. “Once he took the jacket off, that’s when I called the ambulance,” the unnamed worker said, according to the Daily News. “I feel bad for (him) because he was walking like a regular person, was not expecting that was gonna happen.”
An arrest has been made in connection with the incident. Police reportedly charged 21-year-old Brannovan Martinez with assault, criminal use of a firearm and reckless endangerment for his alleged actions.