NEW YORK CITY, NY – A 15-year-old migrant from Venezuela accused of shooting at an NYPD officer in what has been described as a robbery gone wrong reportedly cried while being taken into custody earlier in February.
On February 9, authorities apprehended 15-year-old Jesus Alejandro Rivas-Figueroa, reportedly a migrant from Venezuela who came to the United States in September of 2023, in regard to an incident where a tourist was shot and injured, and an officer was fired upon amidst an alleged shoplifting attempt at an outlet in Times Square.
According to authorities, Rivas-Figueroa was with two other juveniles from his local school whilst trying to shoplift from a JD Sports store located on West 42nd Street and Seventh Avenue at approximately 7:00 p.m. on February 8 when the incident occurred. Security at the establishment caught wind of the attempted shoplifting and approached Rivas-Figueroa’s group, leading to the teen suspect producing a firearm and opening fire on the security guard.
While the security guard wasn’t hit during the incident – nor the officer pursuing the suspects who was reportedly fired upon by Rivas-Figueroa, a 38-year-old bystander identified as Tatiele Riberio, was struck by the suspect’s alleged gunfire. Speaking to a local news oulet about the incident, Riberio stated, “I felt a lot of pain but didn’t know where the pain was coming from. It was a scary moment.”
Riberio, who happened to be a tourist from Brazil, later realized she was shot in the leg after examining herself briefly following the gunfire and sudden pain. The victim didn’t even fully realize at the time that she had been struck by a bullet, only fully learning of the scope of the injury after being rushed to an area hospital and subsequently receiving 13 stitches to close up the wound on her leg.
The victim, who was slated to head back to her home country on February 10, is surprisingly optimistic about the ordeal leading to her hospitalization, telling a local news outlet, “I believe this was just an unfortunate incident, it could have happened anywhere in the world.”
Despite Rivas-Figueroa and his cohorts managing to immediately flee the scene following the shooting, the aforementioned suspect wasn’t long for being on the lam, as the US Marshals Joint Regional Fugitive Task Force and the NYPD managed to track the teen down in under 24 hours following the shooting.
Authorities apprehended the suspect at the home of a relative, according to reports, with NYPD spokesman Carlos Nieves telling members of the press, “He was crying. When he was apprehended, he was crying…Here he is committing these adult acts, that’s something you don’t expect a child to do, and then when he’s apprehended, he’s brought out in handcuffs crying.”
Rivas-Figueroa is expected to be tried as a juvenile in the matter, currently facing attempted murder of a police officer, according to NYPD officials. Furthermore, Rivas-Figueroa is also a person of interest in a separate armed robbery in the Bronx from January as well as another discharge of a firearm incident in Midtown that same month. No formal charges have been announced regarding the latter two incidents.
Police also have a 16-year-old and another 15-year-old in custody who are believed to have been with the alleged shooter during the February 8 incident. Investigators are actively working to determine what role the other two juveniles played in the overall incident.
On February 9, authorities apprehended 15-year-old Jesus Alejandro Rivas-Figueroa, reportedly a migrant from Venezuela who came to the United States in September of 2023, in regard to an incident where a tourist was shot and injured, and an officer was fired upon amidst an alleged shoplifting attempt at an outlet in Times Square.
According to authorities, Rivas-Figueroa was with two other juveniles from his local school whilst trying to shoplift from a JD Sports store located on West 42nd Street and Seventh Avenue at approximately 7:00 p.m. on February 8 when the incident occurred. Security at the establishment caught wind of the attempted shoplifting and approached Rivas-Figueroa’s group, leading to the teen suspect producing a firearm and opening fire on the security guard.
While the security guard wasn’t hit during the incident – nor the officer pursuing the suspects who was reportedly fired upon by Rivas-Figueroa, a 38-year-old bystander identified as Tatiele Riberio, was struck by the suspect’s alleged gunfire. Speaking to a local news oulet about the incident, Riberio stated, “I felt a lot of pain but didn’t know where the pain was coming from. It was a scary moment.”
Riberio, who happened to be a tourist from Brazil, later realized she was shot in the leg after examining herself briefly following the gunfire and sudden pain. The victim didn’t even fully realize at the time that she had been struck by a bullet, only fully learning of the scope of the injury after being rushed to an area hospital and subsequently receiving 13 stitches to close up the wound on her leg.
The victim, who was slated to head back to her home country on February 10, is surprisingly optimistic about the ordeal leading to her hospitalization, telling a local news outlet, “I believe this was just an unfortunate incident, it could have happened anywhere in the world.”
Despite Rivas-Figueroa and his cohorts managing to immediately flee the scene following the shooting, the aforementioned suspect wasn’t long for being on the lam, as the US Marshals Joint Regional Fugitive Task Force and the NYPD managed to track the teen down in under 24 hours following the shooting.
Authorities apprehended the suspect at the home of a relative, according to reports, with NYPD spokesman Carlos Nieves telling members of the press, “He was crying. When he was apprehended, he was crying…Here he is committing these adult acts, that’s something you don’t expect a child to do, and then when he’s apprehended, he’s brought out in handcuffs crying.”
Rivas-Figueroa is expected to be tried as a juvenile in the matter, currently facing attempted murder of a police officer, according to NYPD officials. Furthermore, Rivas-Figueroa is also a person of interest in a separate armed robbery in the Bronx from January as well as another discharge of a firearm incident in Midtown that same month. No formal charges have been announced regarding the latter two incidents.
Police also have a 16-year-old and another 15-year-old in custody who are believed to have been with the alleged shooter during the February 8 incident. Investigators are actively working to determine what role the other two juveniles played in the overall incident.
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Comments
2024-02-13T16:56-0600 | Comment by: Michael
Well, I hope the 15-yr old learns his lesson. Yeah, what he did was very wrong and I do not excuse it. But I hope, for his very young life, that he changes his ways. He could have killed someone or been killed himself. Glad neither happened. Young thugs, here or from other countries, have to learn that this is not the way to act.
2024-02-14T00:03-0600 | Comment by: Joe
Only a waste of time dealing with these thugs. There’s but one solution 🔫🔫
2024-02-20T11:43-0600 | Comment by: Chris
If you are old enough to attempt murder with a firearm, you are old enough for the death penalty if you succeed. Considering his age and that he is crying could mean he is capable of remorse, but it could also be deceiving and he only feels sorry he was caught. He was able to procure a firearm so he is no naive child. These are things that are determined by judges normally but with so much judicial activism these days, real judges are getting harder to come by. When a judge passes judgement on laws by not abiding by or enforcing them, they are an activist. When a judge applies the law taking into account all circumstances, that is what a judge is supposed to do.