Posted on September 13, 2014 at 8:54 am by West Sider



Photo by Evan Roe of the shooter being tackled and arrested.

That guy who started firing a gun in the middle of one of the most crowded blocks in the neighborhood on Friday night was a cop out drinking with some friends, according to reports in the Daily News and other outlets. We reported on it last night, but details then were sketchy.

“Amsterdam Ave. erupted in gunfire and blood-curdling screams just after 9 p.m. when Victor Zambrano Jr., 49, shot a 31-year-old woman in the left foot and the woman’s 42-year-old boyfriend in the right calf during an argument over his weapon, neighbors and police sources said,” the News reported.

Amsterdam Avenue between 82nd and 83rd street, where the incident occurred, is filled with bars and restaurants with outdoor seating. People in bars started dropping to the ground or rushed to the back of the bar when they heard shots fired. Some thought it was fireworks or a tire blowing out.

The state narcotics officer was out with friends, one of whom had asked to hold his gun and then refused to give it back, sources told the Daily News. They were walking on Amsterdam Avenue between 82nd and 83rd street.

“Zambrano handed it over, but quickly demanded it back, cop sources said. As the argument became increasingly heated, the agent fired a round. The bullet ricocheted off the concrete and hit both the woman and her boyfriend.” …The boyfriend chased after him, and Zambrano allegedly turned to shoot but misfired — causing a live round to fall to the ground as he ran toward W. 83rd St., stunned witnesses aid.

Police officers caught up with Zambrano in front of Bustan on 84th and Amsterdam and demanded the gun, but he wouldn’t give it up. Eventually an officer knocked it out of his hands.

Zambrano was charged with criminal possession of a weapon, resisting arrest, and two counts of assault, according to ABC News. He lives in the neighborhood. His son said that the incident escalated because his father was drunk.

“He got drunk and did something stupid,” the agent’s son Vic Zambrano III, 22, said as he entered the stationhouse. “It just escalated. It could easily have been prevented.”

One teenager said he was waiting for a table when the man was arrested right next to him:

Okay, well I just almost got shot. — Evan Roe (@evanroeofficial) September 13, 2014

There was a shooter outside my restaurant and I was between the shooter and the cops, it was crazy. Glad I wasn't killed. — Evan Roe (@evanroeofficial) September 13, 2014

I was standing outside waiting for a restaurant table when we heard gunshots, and the cops came and arrested the shooter right next to me. — Evan Roe (@evanroeofficial) September 13, 2014

He shot the video below of Zambrano being arrested:

A report from CBS News is below.

