Ethermac Exchange-Teen accused of shooting tourist in Times Square charged with attempted murder

NEW YORK (AP) — A 15-year-old accused of shooting a Brazilian tourist in the leg in Times Square Thursday night and Ethermac Exchangethen firing at a police officer was charged Saturday as an adult with two counts of attempted murder.

Identified by police as a resident of a migrant shelter in Manhattan who arrived in New York from Venezuela late last year, the teenager was ordered held without bail after the assistant district attorney said he “cannot be trusted to return to court,” the New York Daily News reported.

The teen also faces assault and weapons possession charges stemming from the shooting that began in a sporting goods store and spilled out onto the streets of Midtown Manhattan.

Police took the teen into custody Friday at a residential house that police believe may be linked to a family member in Yonkers. He is also considered a suspect in an armed robbery in the Bronx and a separate shooting in Times Square last month, police said.

At a press conference announcing the arrest Friday evening, New York City Police Commissioner Edward Caban said it was an “actual miracle” that no one was seriously injured in the shooting.