KINGSBRIDGE — Cops have arrested a teenager suspected of shooting a 9-year-old girl in the Bronx Friday night.
Billie James, 17, turned himself in at a Bronx police station on Sunday, cops said. The teen is accused of firing several shots into a crowd on Bailey Avenue near West 233rd Street Friday night as he rode by on a BMX-style bicycle.
One of the bullets struck Amanda Chauan, 9, in the stomach as she was playing outside with her younger brother.
Cops believe James had been looking to settle a previous score, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly told reporters Monday.
"We believe the motive was a dispute that took place at the location sometime earlier," Kelly said. "He went back, apparently seeking revenge…whether or not he was aiming at somebody or firing indiscriminately [is] unknown."
James was walked out of the 50th Precinct Stationhouse Monday morning, dressed in black pants and a gray sweatshirt with the hood drawn over his head to hide his face. He remained silent when asked about the shooting by reporters.
He was expected to be arraigned on charges of attempted murder and depraved indifference, Kelly said.
Amanda was treated in the intensive care unit at Jacobi Medical Center but was released Sunday in time to spend Father's Day with her dad and other family members at their Bailey Avenue home, where the little girl was greeted with balloons and a cake.
"When I saw her I was in shock but it was a happy shock," Amanda's grandfather, Humberto Lopez, told DNAinfo New York Sunday.
"She gave me a kiss and a hug. It was a beautiful present. The best present anyone could have. You can't ask for nothing else."
