Group Shoots Fruit Vendor, MTA Train Conductor in Face With BB Gun Just Days Apart: Police

New York City police say a group of people shot a fruit vendor and an MTA train conductor in the face with a BB gun just five days apart in what appeared to be random attacks.

The group of four walked up to their first victim who was operating a fruit stand on White Plains Road in the Williamsbridge section of the Bronx and one of them shot the 73-year-old man while another recorded the Nov. 3 incident on a cellphone, surveillance footage released by the NYPD on Thursday showed.

Five days later, police suspect that the same group shot an MTA train conductor, 37-year-old Trevor Thomas, in the face while he was halted on the platform of the East 219th Street subway station, which is just steps away from the first incident.

Both victims suffered lacerations to their faces but are expected to recover, police said.

Thomas still has to see a specialist to get the BB gun pellet removed from his nose, according to Transit Worker Union Local 100.

“This is a heinous attack on a transit worker which underscores the need for greater protections and stronger laws to keep our members safe,” union Vice President Eric Loegel said.

Anyone with information about either incident is urged to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).