The man accused of shooting and injuring three people in Times Square on May 8 before fleeing to Florida appeared in a New York court on Wednesday and pleaded not guilty.
Farrakhan Muhammad, 31, is charged with attempted murder and multiple counts of assault, reckless endangerment and criminal use of a firearm.
He was denied bail, and the next hearing was set for September 13.
Muhammad has denied that he is responsible for the shooting that wounded two women and a four-year-old girl at the NYC landmark.
The victims did not know each other.
James Essig, New York Police Department Chief of Detectives, said that Muhammad was identified as the gunman by his brother, who told officers he was the intended target of the shooting.
Farrakhan Muhammad, 31, appeared in New York Supreme Court on Wednesday afternoon, charged with attempted murder and multiple counts of assault, reckless endangerment and criminal use of a firearm. He pleaded not guilty
Muhammad, who had several previous arrests for robbery, fraud, assault and harassment, was denied bail by the judge in New York City
Muhammad has insisted that he was not in New York at the time of the May 8 Times Square shooting. Surveillance footage, however, captured someone who strongly resembled him running from the scene, and Muhammad's brother told police it was him
Muhammad is seen on May 28, when he was charged with attempted murder and multiple counts of assault, reckless endangerment and criminal use of a firearm. He is seen being led away from the police precinct where he was charged
Muhammad was aiming for his brother, his brother told police, and shot the three people by mistake. Muhammad insists he was not in New York City at the time
US Marshals in Starke, Florida, shared this photo of Muhammad after his arrest on May 12
U.S. Marshals arrested Muhammad near Jacksonville, Florida, four days after the shooting, along with a woman who authorities said traveled with him from New York.
Muhammad spoke to WCJB-TV from county jail in Florida telling them that he had not been in New York at the time of the shooting.
'I still don't know nothing of nothing,' Muhammad told a WCJB reporter.
'I left New York a few days ago. I was in [New] Jersey,' he said.
Muhammad claimed that he had been evicted from his apartment in New York and traveled to New Jersey with his two dogs to stay with his girlfriend's family.
New York State lawmakers previously extended a statewide moratorium on residential and commercial evictions through August 31, meaning landlords should be unable to evict their tenants until the end of the summer.
Muhammad and his girlfriend, 22-year-old Kristine Vergara, later made their way to Bradford County, Florida, where he said they stayed with other family members.
Police officers are seen arriving on the scene in Times Square on May 8, moments after three people were caught in crossfire at around 5pm and shot
Muhammad was arrested after being caught in a car with his girlfriend and their two dogs in the parking lot of this McDonald's in Starke, Florida, on May 12
The suspect confirmed that he and Vergara were near the McDonald's in Starke at the time of their arrest on Tuesday, but claimed that they were on their way to look at an apartment for purchase.
They changed their minds about the property after a Confederate flag was spotted flying over the apartment building, and instead headed to the McDonald's for lunch.
'We parked by McDonald’s so we could eat McDonald’s real quick and that’s what happened,' claimed Muhammad.
US Marshals apprehended Muhammad and booked him into the county jail on an out-of-state warrant, charging him with being a fugitive from justice.
His girlfriend, who lives in Jacksonville, is facing a count of accessory to second-degree attempted murder.
Muhammad (left) was booked into jail on an out-of-state warrant. His girlfriend, Kristine Vergara, 22 (right), faces a charge of accessory to attempted murder
This map shows the 975 mile trip Muhammad took from New York after the shooting, which ended when his car ran out of gas because of fuel shortages, police sources say
Spectrum NY1 reported that Muhammad's attempted escape came to an end due to fuel shortages caused after Russian hackers targeted the Colonial Pipeline.
The fuel line supplies much of the United States east coast, with ongoing disruption caused by the hack causing gas shortages and panic buying across much of the south east. An estimated 10 per cent of Florida gas stations have run out of fuel.
He was later spotted traveling through Fayetteville, North Carolina, and eventually picked up another 436 miles away in Starke.
ABC News correspondent Aaron Katersky tweeted a photo of Muhammad's arrest, with police saying he'd shaved his long hair short in an attempted disguise.
Muhammad's apprehension came four days and 975 miles way from the scene of the shooting.
His girlfriend was driving the car when Muhammad was arrested, but has not been charged with any crime.
Officers said Muhammad had shaved his hair to try and disguise himself.
Times Square is seen with a heavy police presence in the aftermath of the May 8 shooting, outside the theatre which normally hosts The Lion King
The shooting began at 5pm on May 8 in front of the Minskoff Theater that hosts the hit musical Lion King, but which is currently closed due to COVID-19 restrictions
The two apparently left New York City together after the shooting, according to one senior law enforcement official, though it's not clear if the woman knew he was wanted in the Times Square gunfire at that point.
NYPD detectives checked cameras that showed him leave Times Square after the gunfire and go to a hotel near West 42nd Street, NBC reported.
There he changed clothes and was seen leaving with his girlfriend.
Four-year-old Skye Martinez, 23-year-old Wendy Magrinat and 43-year-old Marcela Aldana were all injured in the attack.
The shooting occurred at around 5 p.m. on a Saturday night in front of the Minskoff Theater. It normally hosts the hit musical Lion King, but which is currently closed due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Upon hearing gunshots, many victims have said they felt panic and confusion, with dramatic footage showing frightened crowds scattering as they realized what was happening.
Magrinat said onlookers began filming her with their mobile phones rather than help in the immediate aftermath of the shooting.
She was on a sightseeing trip from Rhode Island when she was shot in the leg while standing with her husband Yoel, their two-year-old daughter Elise, and her mother, stepfather and eight-year-old sister.
Magrinat said she started screaming after she had been shot in the leg: 'I don't want to die, please help me! The pain was too much, and I dropped to the floor.
'I understand people get in shock. But if you're in shock, you shouldn't be recording. But that's how people are right now.'
Danae Romero, 16, meanwhile, said she was waiting in line at a toy store with her four-year-old niece Skye when the shooting began.
Romero said the pair ran for their lives - but described how Skye was struck by a stray bullet in her calf.
Alyssa Vogel was filmed running from the tourist hotspot with four-year-old Skye Martinez in her arms after a gunman opened fire (right). Vogel said she was just doing her job
In an interview with DailyMail.com, Vogel said she thought any police officer in that situation would have done the same thing
'She didn't feel anything. Even when we noticed when we were at the corner, she wasn't crying,' Romero told The New York Post.
Instead, she sat there, as Police Officer Alyssa Vogel sprinted through the tourist spot, stopping at Skye and immediately applying a tourniquet to her leg.
Body camera footage shows Vogel then scooped up the child, and ran with her to a nearby ambulance.
'I think any officer that would've responded to a job just like that would've done the exact same thing,' Vogel previously told DailyMail.com.
Muhammad was a well-known figure in Times Square, where he would sell bootleg CDs.
He has been arrested several times over the last few years.
He was charged on October 17, 2018, with harassing a 25-year-old woman on the phone and sending her threatening text messages.
On March 17, 2018, he was arrested for aggravated harassment in Midtown, and on March 14, 2020, he was arrested for assault in Midtown.
Between 2007 and 2015, he was arrested seven other times on various charges including robbery, grand larceny and fraud.
Wasn't him: Times Square shooting suspect Farrakhan Muhammad, 31, told a WCJB reporter in a jailhouse interview that he was not in New York City at the time of the incident
Muhammad, who was caught near Jacksonville, Florida, on May 12, claimed that he had been evicted from his New York apartment and traveled to New Jersey to stay with his girlfriend's family
A suspect said to be Farrakhan Muhammad has been arrested on suspicion the May 8 shooting in Times Square, which left three people injured
Muhammad made his initial court appearance in Bradford County, Florida, on May 13 and opted to delay his extradition. By May 28 he was in New York
The shooting came amid criticism from the Sergeants Benevolent Association and mayoral candidates.
They said the shooting was proof of the need of more funding for the NYPD, who had their budget slashed by $1 billion last summer by Mayor Bill de Blasio.
De Blasio was celebrating his 60th birthday when the shooting occurred, but later tweeted he was glad the victims were in stable condition.
'The perpetrators of this senseless violence are being tracked down and the NYPD will bring them to justice,' he wrote. 'The flood of illegal guns into our city must stop.'
Violent crime has skyrocketed in New York City over the last few years.
Data from the New York Police Department shows there have been over 2,600 grand larceny arrests in April alone and 1,630 assault cases. Those figures are up 62 and 35 per cent, respectively, from the same time last year.
Violent crime has skyrocketed in recent months, with shooting at their most frequent since 1998
Shootings, meanwhile, are at their most frequent since 1998.
'Live from Times Square Disney in NYC the center of the world and the 'Happiest Place on Earth' where 4 year old girls are shot in broad day light, only feet away from a police precinct,' the SBA tweeted about the incident that night, including a photo of the Times Square Mickey Mouse.
'Tourists avoid NYC don’t become a victim, please go to the real Disney in Florida.'
Tourists were just starting to come back to the Big Apple following a 18-month break in travel thanks to COVID-19, mayoral front-runner Andrew Yang said, who added that the Big Apple 'cannot afford' to listen to left-wing calls to defund its police department.
'When I talk to New Yorkers, I get a very different message every single day. Nothing works in our city without public safety, and for public safety we need the police.
'My message to the NYPD is this: New York needs you, your city needs you. We need you to do your jobs professionally, responsibly and justly. I will have your back.'
His rival Eric Adams, a former NYPD captain who edged ahead of Yang in a recent poll, slammed Yang for only now picking up on the rise in crime, which he said has been prevalent in poorer neighborhoods for years.
'You know what, Andrew? These shootings have been happening blocks from my house for years and blocks from the houses of poorer New Yorkers for years.
'It is time for us to recognize it when it is in every square block of our city. Shame on you for not realizing that,' he said.
One of Adams' campaign promises is to reinstate the disbanded NYPD anti-crime unit which de Blasio canceled last year amid criticism of its violent tactics.
NYC Mayoral candidate Andrew Yang has pledged to establish a new 'anti-violence plain clothes unit to reduce guns and gun violence'. 'The police will be key to our recovery,' he said.
Times Square has remained a popular tourist destination despite a rise in crime
In a news conference following the shooting, NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said that his officers have been taking guns off the streets at an 'alarming rate over the past two years.'
'It's time now that we have consequences for those,' he added, seeming to refer to bail reform policies that see many suspects, including those caught with illegal firearms, walk free without posting cash bond.
'How many more kids do we need to be shot before we realize that bad policies have consequences?' said Shea.
'We need action, and we need policies regarding laws to have consequences.'
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