The Big Apple straphanger initially believed to have been stabbed on board a moving subway this week was actually shot – and the violence stemmed from a heated fight between strangers, cops and sources said Wednesday.
The victim, 27, was shot in his stomach on board a southbound No. 4 train passing through Wall Street in downtown Manhattan at about 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, police said.
He was treated at the scene before being rushed to Bellevue Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries that investigators initially believed stemmed from a stabbing, police said.
But doctors apparently found the round as they performed surgery on the victim, according to law enforcement sources.
Their findings confirmed the victim’s cries as he stumbled out of the Wall Street subway station, according to a witness who saw him outside the famed Trinity Church.
“There was blood around his mouth and nose and he stopped here and he said he got shot,” said Orin Davidson, a tour bus hawker, who called 911. “He told me he got shot.”
“He said, ‘I got shot’ and then he collapsed,” said Davidson, adding that the victim had “blood around his mouth and nose.”
The masked perp – who was believed to be a teen with a dark complexion and dreadlocks – fled when the train pulled into the Wall Street station, according to law enforcement sources.
He had not been caught by Wednesday.
Cops initially said an attempted robbery fueled the violence, but cops said Wednesday that the suspect did not rob the victim, or try to do so.
It was not immediately clear what sparked the fight that led to the shooting.
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