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Teen Boy Arrested in Shooting of 8-Year-Old in The Bronx

By Ben Fractenberg | February 24, 2012 6:15pm | Updated on February 24, 2012 8:29pm

MANHATTAN — Police arrested a teen boy who has been charged him with attempted murder in the shooting of an 8-year-old inside a Bronx bodega earlier this week.

Eduardo Rodriguez, 15, of The Bronx, was arrested Friday on charges he fired at a group of people in front of the Soundview store, striking 8-year-old Armando Bigo in the shoulder as he stood inside the deli, the NYPD said.

Rodriguez, who was passing by on a bike when he fired once from a silver handgun, is charged with attempted murder, assault and criminal possession of a weapon, police said.

Bigo was standing in front a chip rack near the entrance to Papa Yala's bodega shortly before 8 p.m. Tuesday when Rodriguez opened fire, striking the boy in the frightening incident captured on surveillance tape.

Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Friday the shooting resulted from a dispute between two gangs, noting the beef has been simmering since last year, when someone from one of the gangs was hit by a car and killed while running away from members of the other gang.

"That's at the core of the ongoing violence back and forth between these two crews," Kelly explained.

The police commissioner also blamed the shooting on lax gun laws.

"It's a manifestation of there being too many guns on the streets of this city," he said, "and every major city in America."