A smoke shop worker was grazed by a stray bullet when a shooter blasted a rival in the Bronx early Friday, cops and sources said.
The employee, a 37-year-old woman, was closing up the smoke shop on West Fordham Road near University Avenue in University Heights around 1:20 a.m. when she was grazed in the right thigh, authorities and sources said.
The apparent intended target, a 43-year-old man, was arguing with the suspect in front of a deli on the same block, near Devoe Park, when he took a bullet to the back, cops and sources said.
The man was taken by EMS to St. Barnabas Hospital, where he was listed in critical but stable condition, cops said.
The woman went by private means to Columbia University Irving Medical Center, where she was listed in stable condition, cops said.
No description of the suspected gunman was provided later Friday, and he remained on the loose.
Shootings are up so far this year in the confines of the 52nd Precinct, which covers the area of the incident.
As of Sunday — the latest NYPD statistics available — 28 people were shot in 15 incidents within the precinct’s boundaries.
During the same period in 2023, 13 people were shot in 10 incidents, according to the data.
