Gunman opens fire in Times Square - the third time in three months - as violent crime spirals out of control in the heart of the Big Apple

A gunman allegedly shot at a motorcyclist in Times Square early Wednesday morning in what marked the third time in three months someone has fired a weapon in the tourism hotspot putting innocent bystanders in danger.

Officers with the NYPD responded to calls reporting shots fired around 12:40 a.m. near 7th Ave. and 41st St. in Midtown, Freedom News TV reported. Nobody was injured in the shooting and no arrests have been made.

A man reportedly involved in the shooting said he was with a group on bikes who were cut off, he told the outlet off camera. The group went to 'have words' with the driver of the vehicle when at least one person shot at them.

At least four shots were fired when the white Mercedes clipped a motorcyclist, 32, in the bus lane - leaving him with knee and elbow injuries, NYPD officials told the New York Daily News.

The shooting on Wednesday was the third shooting in New York City since May. Bystanders are pictured in Times Square after a shooting on June 27

Then, a U.S. Marine was injured in another shooting on June 27 when he was hit by a ricocheting bullet at W. 45th St. and Seventh Ave.

A friend of the motorcyclist, 22, confronted a group of men standing by the car when someone in the group started firing, cops told the Daily News. The Mercedes then sped off as the alleged shooter fled on foot.

An NYPD spokesperson told DailyMail.com in a statement that the 22-year-old man has filed a police report for attempted assault.

'He was involved in a dispute with unknown individuals when one of the males displayed a black firearm and fired multiple shots in his direction. The reporter was not injured as a result,' the spokesperson said. 

The shooting incident marks the third time shots have rung out in Times Square since May 8 when two adults and a four-year-old girl named Skye Martinez were hit with stray bullets.

Farrakhan Muhammad, the alleged gunman, had reportedly started shooting over a street vendor 'turf war.' He allegedly fled the Big Apple after the shooting and was arrested days later in Florida.

Then a U.S. Marine was injured in another shooting on June 27 when he was hit by a ricocheting bullet at W. 45th St. and Seventh Ave., police said.

A breakdancer, 16-year-old Avon Darden, had allegedly tried to shoot a rival dancer when he hit Samuel Poulin, 21, in the back as he and his wife and family walked past.

The teen later handed himself over to cops at the Midtown South precinct station house accompanied by his mother.

Business leaders near Times Square have ripped the administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio as they claim he has not taken 'immediate action' to stop the gun violence. 

An inforgraphic shows crime rates in New York City 

Tom Harris, president of the Times Square Alliance, told the Daily News that the shootings have 'got to stop' and that the shooting incident on Wednesday was 'just the latest in an unacceptable cycle.'

'We cannot wait for a new mayor,' Harris said. 'The de Blasio administration needs to stop making excuses and develop effective strategies and take immediate action.'

He added: 'We need to refocus, reenergize, and support our police officers so they can do their jobs and prevent crimes.' 

De Blasio has not yet addressed the shooting incident publicly. DailyMail.com has reached out to his office for comment.

Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, who won the Democratic primary for this year's mayoral race, appeared at an event with Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday as the two political leaders present a united front in addressing the rising crime.

Adams, 60, ran on a largely anti-crime platform and will become the mayor of New York if he defeats Republican Curtis Silwa in the general election. The former NYPD police captain has even received praised from Fox News host Tucker Carlson. 

Cuomo, 63, added to the praise on Wednesday while speaking at the Lenox Road Baptist Church - marking a stark contrast to his ongoing rivalry with de Blasio particularly through their differences in the handling of the coronavirus pandemic. 

'Eric and I come from the same political philosophy,' Cuomo said, according to the New York Daily News.  

'I think Eric Adams and I are going to work very well together. I believe, he believes, the same philosophy of government: it's not what you say, it's not about the politics, it's about performance.' 

Avon Darden, 16, handed himself over to cops at the Midtown South Precinct station house on Wednesday a whopping ten days after the shooting. He is pictured in surveillance footage while cops searched for him

 Darden reportedly has been arrested for three felonies

Samuel Poulin, 21, was hit in the back by a ricocheting bullet as he walked with his family near the Marriott Hotel on W. 45th St. around 5:15 p.m. on June 27

The politicians both said their main focuses for New York City will be public safety and economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Adams compared New York City's Washington Square Park to a San Francisco 'shantytown' after residents nearby have complained of drug use and loud raves after the park has closed.

'My son and I walk through the park oftentimes just to talk. Someone's sitting next to us, injecting themselves with heroin. Police right there,' Adams said. 

'There is just a sense that we have a city where any and everything goes.'

The mayoral candidate also ripped New York judges and bail reform laws for not doing their part to combat the rising crime rates. 

He also said judges are not using tools they do have at their disposal like Kendra's Law which lets courts order mental health treatment in some cases.

'Our judges are not giving bail on cases where they are allowed to give bail. They're refusing to use Kendra's Law on mental health issues,' Adams said.

'We have thrown up our hands, and we have surrendered our city. It's time for us to ensure our city is for the working class, everyday people who are following the laws and saying that government is going to make sure we protect them.'

Cuomo described gun violence as a 'major civil rights issue' while announcing the state will offer 4,000 summer jobs and full-time jobs with training for the city's youth in the hopes of providing an 'alternative' to gun violence, the Daily News reported.

Those efforts come after de Blasio already unveiled 75,000 jobs for city youth this summer, as noted by the Daily News.

Crime, particularly in the Bronx borough of New York City, has risen drastically when compared to last year. 

NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea told NY1 on Wednesday that the Bronx has not had such high gun violence rates since the mid-1990s.

'The Bronx is back to a level not seen since 1996,' Commissioner Shea said.

He added: 'We've had a bad run right now in the Bronx, specifically with gang violence involving young kids.'

Jaryan Elliot, 13, was shot dead around 3:15 p.m. on Sunday outside Angels Cafe in the Belmont neighborhood of the Bronx

A young member of the Crips who was shot dead in the Bronx during an escalating 'war' in which at least three teens have been killed.

Jaryan Elliot, 13, was shot dead around 3:15 p.m. on Sunday outside Angels Cafe in the Belmont neighborhood of the Bronx in revenge for the killing of rival gang member Tyquill Daugherty, 19, four days earlier, the New York Post reported.

Jaryan, who had just graduated from middle school, would have turned 14 on July 29. He had already been arrested eight times, including for robbery and assault, and had spent time at a juvenile detention center before his death.

A GoFundMe has since been started for Jaryan's mother to help her pay for the funeral after the young teen's death. 

The young Crips member is pictured holding an apparent gun

Jaryan is believed to have been at the scene of Daugherty's shooting, though not the gunman, police sources told the New York Post.

Ramon Gil-Medrano, the third shooting victim, was shot dead about eight hours after Jaryan was killed in apparent retaliation for the young boy's death. Ramon, 16, was allegedly affiliated with the 800 YGz, or 'Young Gunnaz,' gang.

Police sources told the New York Post that Gil-Medrano was at the scene when Jaryan was shot dead but it was not immediately clear if he was the shooter.

NYPD data shows that murder rates are up 4.7% in 2021 compared to last year as of July 11. There have been 225 murders citywide this year compared to 215 last year.

Shooting victims are up 22.2% year over year, with 931 shooting incidents in 2021 compared to 762 in 2020 citywide by July 11, NYPD data shows. The number of shooting incidents has increased from 623 in 2020 to 803 in 2021, a 28.9% jump.

However, those rates are much starker when examined just for the Bronx borough of New York City.

Of those 225 murders in New York City this year, 69 of them were in the Bronx – making up a whopping 31% of all murders in the Big Apple. There were 49 murders in the borough last year, making up only 22% of all murders across the city by July 11, 2020.

The number of shooting victims in the Bronx specifically has jumped 64.8% year-over-year, from 193 shooting incidents in 2020 to 318 in 2021. That means about 42% of all shooting victims in New York City came from the Bronx this year.