A man shot in the face while sitting in his car in the Bronx Friday night fled the scene, driving nearly half a mile, where he was met by police and paramedics, police officers said.
The 30-year-old victim, who is expected to survive, was in the driver’s seat of a blue BMW SUV on E. 157th St. near Elton Ave. Melrose When the gunman fired a reported four shots from the street nearby, striking the victim in the cheek around 8 p.m., police said.
The victim took off in his car, driving west on E. 157th before turning left onto Courtland Ave. and stopped at the intersection at E. 156th St., where police and paramedics rushed to meet him, police said.
Medics took the victim to Lincoln Hospital in stable condition, police said.
The resident of a nearby building on E. 157th St. told the Daily News he rushed outside after hearing four shots rang out and arrived at the scene in time to see the shooter flee.
“I ran down and the kid in red ran away from the car,” said the 50-year-old witness. “I’m not going to knock anybody’s life, but this is a drug scene – night and day.”
Three blocks away, another man watched as police helped the victim from his car.
“When he stopped, the police were waiting for him,” the man said. “He said, ‘Someone shot me, someone shot me.’ There’s no surprise here.”
The Melrose shooting followed another spate of gun violence less than a mile away on E. 161st St. near Forest Ave. where a 40-year-old man was shot in the buttocks during an argument between two groups around 6:30 p.m., police said.
That victim was also taken to Lincoln Hospital in stable condition.
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