Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Police Arrest 15-Year-Old For Shooting 8-Year-Old
By
Ben Yakas
Published Feb 25, 2012
Modified Feb 25, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Ben Yakas
Published Feb 25, 2012
Modified Feb 25, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
On Tuesday night, an 8-year-old was shot in the shoulder by a gunman on a bike in the Bronx. Police have now arrested 15-year-old Eduardo Rodriguez for shooting second grader Armando Bigo; Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said Rodriguez had been trying to shoot a teen from a rival gang when he accidentally hit Armando. “We are so happy to hear they got someone, but it’s sad that it’s a teenager. It’s just a child,” Armando's mom Ely Flores told the Daily News.
“How do all these kids have guns on the streets? It's hard to believe a little teenager could get a gun,” she added. Police believe the shooting stemmed from a long-running dispute between two local crews that started with a death in a car accident last year. Rodriguez has been charged with attempted murder, assault and criminal possession of a weapon.
Armando had asked his mother to buy him some chips just before 8 p.m. at the Papa Yala’s Deli on Randall Ave. near St. Lawrence Ave. in Soundview on Tuesday. As you can see in the surveillance video of the incident above, Armando barely flinched when he was hit, later noting: “I felt this pain. I didn’t know what it was. It felt bad. It felt real bad.”
Armando, a second-grader at PS 170 in the Bronx, was most concerned about his mother, who was standing next to him: “I was scared. I ran to my mom. My mom was crying. I didn’t like seeing my mom cry. I don’t remember much else.” Store manager Mahmood Abdulrub told the Daily News that he sat Armando on a milk crate to try to stop the bleeding: "He was so polite. He looked up at me with his big googly eyes and said, 'Thank you, sir.'" Armando also apologized for spilling blood on the shop's floor: "He kept telling me he had to spit up blood," Abdulrub said. "He was worried about spitting blood on my floor. I kept telling him not to worry about it....It was crazy. This little boy had just been shot and he still remembered his manners."
Armando was treated for a punctured lung, a fractured rib and an injured spinal cord; he has fluid in his lungs because of the bullet. Doctors say the bullet is still lodged below a bone in his neck, next to a major artery. They are hoping it will move naturally to a place where it will be safer to extricate. Meanwhile, Armando continues to recover slowly: “He’s doing okay,” said his mom. “He walked yesterday, but he was in so much pain, and they gave him morphine. They wanted to see if the bullet moved down.”
She hopes they'll release him in a few days, but added that he's scared to go home. “I just hope the violence stops. I don't know what it will take to get these guns off the street,” Flores said. “It might take a miracle.”
Tagged
bike-by
bodega
bronx
gun violence
shooting
stray bullet
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
NYC's horse carriage industry facing potential extinction with Thursday Council vote
The mayor and City Council struck a deal to end the practice after years of protest.
By
Catalina Gonella
Published Oct 22, 2026 at 11:48 a.m. ET
Jersey City housing development deal expected to send money to schools, city government
The Canal Crossing project broke ground this week, with plans for housing, 20,000 square feet of commercial space and a public park.
By
Michael Sol Warren
News
Jersey City housing development deal expected to send money to schools, city government
The Canal Crossing project broke ground this week, with plans for housing, 20,000 square feet of commercial space and a public park.
By
Michael Sol Warren
The divide among Mamdani allies over reforming the NYPD
By
Elizabeth Kim
How NY Gov. Hochul, Bruce Blakeman would tackle rising electric, heat bills
By
Jon Campbell
Early Addition: Some NYC workers got up extremely early to commute from the Poconos
By
James Ramsay
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .