Man Shot in Hell’s Kitchen Robbery; Assault in Times Sq. Subway

A tourist hotspot punctuated by side street drug havens during the day, the western edge of Hell’s Kitchen turns into a gritty demimonde of bars and nightclubs as the hours grow late.

Cops from the Midtown North responded to an attempted robbery robbery that turned into a near murder when at 2:08 a.m. a 911 call reported a male shot outside 617 West 46th Street, between 11th and 12th Avenues, just steps from the U.S.S. Intrepid.

Upon arrival, officers observed a 30-year-old male with a gunshot wound to the abdomen. EMS responded and transported the victim to Mount Sinai Morningside in stable condition.

There are no arrests at this time, and the investigation remains ongoing.

According to the New York Post, the victim was gut shot when a masked bandit tried to steal his gold “bling” chain from him after he exited the Stafford Room of The Harbor, a nightclub venue and lounge.

When the victim resisted, the masked bandit who was decked out in black and had dreadlocks, pulled out a gun and shot him.

The nature of the crime and the descriptive term “dreadlocks” both strongly suggest that the victim was targeted, either by someone previously in The Stafford or by a person inside who informed the bandit the bling wearer was coming out.

Times Square Subway Fight: One Man Hospitalized, Another Free on No Bail, Despite Assault & Weapon Charges

An unexplained fight on July 16 between two men left one man hospitalized and briefly behind bars before he was released with no bail.

According to the NYPD, it happened at around 5:43 p.m. on the mezzanine of the N/Q/R train station at 42nd Street and Seventh Avenue in Times Square, withing the confines of both the Midtown South Precinct and Transit District 1.

When the cops got there, the suspected assailant had fled and the victim, who was apparently punched in the face, had fallen hard to the ground causing severe trauma to his head and face.

EMS rushed the victim to NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue in critical condition, where According to PIX 11, he needed to be sedated with internal brain bleeding and a possible skull fracture. The victim’s condition has since been upgraded to stable.

Interestingly, before police even released a photo of the attacker, he was caught in the mezzanine of the Port Authority Bus Terminal on July 17 at 6:16 p.m.

His name is Cerrone Clark, a 47-year-old male from Paterson, NJ, and this first arrest was for Criminal Possession of a Weapon 3rd Degree.

Later that night, a 9:10 p.m. Clark was charged with assault for the previous day’s alleged attack on the victim in the subway.

After a brief spell behind bars, Clarke was arraigned in New York Criminal Court at 100 Centre Street on July 19, Judge Robert Mandelbaum presiding.

Represented by public defender Margaret Bergmann, Clarke pled not guilty and, in the formal language of court reporting, he was “Released With Non-Monetary Conditions.”

Clarke is due back in court on September 9.