Two bystanders wounded by stray bullets caps bloody week in the Bronx

Two innocent bystanders were wounded early Saturday when a gunman blasted away at a rival on a Bronx street, police said.

The early-morning shooting of a man and a woman capped off a bloody week in the Bronx, where two people were killed and six others were wounded in separate incidents. Several of the shootings occurred within 12 hours, cops said.

The victims, a 23-year-old woman and a 39-year-old man were standing with a group of people outside the Hawaii Lounge and Tapas Bar on E. 180th St. near Webster Ave. in Fordham at about 2:45 a.m. when shots were fired.

Two men were arguing with each other near the group when one of them pulled a gun and started shooting.

Cops called to the scene found the woman suffering from a gunshot wound to her right leg. She was rushed to St. Barnabas Hospital for treatment.

While cops were there, the 39-year-old man showed up at the hospital, claiming he had been shot in the hand at the same location, cops said.

Both victims were hit by stray bullets, cops said.

The gunman, who was dressed in black, jumped into a black Mercedes Benz, which was last seen heading east on E. 180th St. No arrests have been made.

The blood-stained week began Sunday afternoon when a 52-year-old man was fatally shot in the head during a mugging, cops said.

Victim Jose Baez was on Bruckner Blvd. near Pugsley Ave. in Castle Hill at about 4:15 p.m. when Julio Ramirez, 28, pulled a gun on him and demanded his property.

During the holdup, Ramirez shot Baez in the head. He also accidentally shot himself, cops said. Investigators arrested him on Tuesday after finding him recovering at Lincoln Hospital.

Cops charged Ramirez with murder, robbery and weapon possession. He was ordered held without bail when he was arraigned Wednesday in Bronx Criminal Court.

At around 3 a.m. Tuesday morning, 28-year-old Idriss Cherif El Farissy was shot in the head during a robbery outside his home on E. 176th St. near Mohegan Ave. near Crotona Park, cops said. El Farissy died at the scene. His killer has not been caught.

His slaying was one of four shootings within 12 hours in the Bronx that began about 3:30 p.m. Monday when two men, ages 18 and 67, were shot near E. 145th St. and Third Ave. in Mott Haven.

The two victims were with a group when the gunman ran up and started firing. Both men were hit in the legs. An errant bullet also hit the window of an occupied MTA bus, but no one on the bus was hurt, according to police.

Medics took both men to Lincoln Hospital, where they are expected to recover.

About five hours later in Chief Dennis Devlin Park in Parkchester, a 34-year-old man was shot in the ear during a clash near Olmstead Ave. and the Cross Bronx Expressway.

Both the victim and the 44-year-old gunman were in the park when the younger man accused the shooter of stealing his belongings. During the ensuing fight, the shooter pulled a gun and blasted the victim in the right ear.

Cops responding to the 8:37 p.m. shooting found the victim, who pointed out the shooter as the suspect and a woman ran away.

Police caught up with the alleged shooter, identified as Roderic Cox, and recovered a black 9-mm. Glock handgun, police said. Detectives charged Cox with attempted murder, reckless endangerment and weapons possession, officials said.

The victim was treated and released from Jacobi Medical Center.

At about 10:45 p.m., shots rang out on Courtlandt Ave. near E. 158th St. in Melrose. A 37-year-old man who suffered a graze wound to the head was taken to Lincoln Hospital. A second victim, a 66-year-old woman shot in the shoulder and hip at that location arrived at the same hospital by private means.

It was not immediately clear if either victim was the intended target, cops said. Both are expected to survive.

No arrests have been made in that incident.

Before last week, cops were holding onto a 1% drop in shootings in the Bronx, the NYPD said. As of July 21, Bronx cops were investigating 179 shootings, three fewer than the 182 that occurred at the same time a year earlier, according to department statistics.