Manhunt underway after teen shot outside Queens high school

ELMHURST, Queens (WABC) — A manhunt is underway for the gunman who opened fire near a high school in Queens, leaving the teenage son of an NYPD officer wounded.

It comes as city officials continue to raise concerns about ghost guns.

They are asking the federal government to target one gun manufacturer in particular as part of a crackdown on those untraceable weapons.

The 17-year-old student was struck in the arm when shots rang out near the intersection of 74th Street and Grand Avenue in Elmhurst around 1:45 p.m. Wednesday.

Surveillance video shows the suspects on a scooter when one opens fire.

The victim, the son of an NYPD officer, ran inside Maspeth High School for help and was taken to the hospital.

He is listed in stable condition.

Police sources tell Eyewitness News that it remains unclear whether the victim was the intended target of the shooting.

He was walking with another male at the time of the incident who might have been the intended target.

According to police, there may have been a dispute with two other people prior to the shooting.

“It all started with a fight, literally in a Burger King right there,” one student said. “There was a fight, two boys going at each other. Someone threw a trash can, and now this.”

Two suspects were seen fleeing on mopeds, and police later said two 15-year-old persons of interest were taken into custody.

They were later released and determined to not be connected to the shooting.

The school was briefly put on lockdown.

“The NYPD, School Safety Agents, and school staff placed Maspeth High School on a hard lockdown to ensure all students at Maspeth are safe while the NYPD responds to an off-campus incident,” the Department of Education said in a statement. “The lockdown has been lifted, and the NYPD and school safety are assisting with dismissal.”

Metal detectors were in place to screen students arriving for school Thursday morning.

This shooting happened as NYC Mayor Eric Adams was announcing several initiatives to fight gun violence, including shutting down a ghost gun manufacturer.

“We’ve never experienced the level of total disregard and fearlessness of carrying a gun and using a gun,” Adams said. “I’ve never witnessed anything like this. There’s a real energy out there that it is all right to carry and use a gun because nothing is going to happen to you. That’s a big mistake.”

The fear is the number of shootings will increase as summer weather arrives and temperatures across the city rise.

ALSO READ | NYPD officer out of hospital after being shot in the Bronx

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