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2 Teens Busted with Illegal Gun After Chase Through Lincoln Center Station

By Emily Frost | March 26, 2014 3:56pm
 Two 16-year-olds were tracked by officers into the Lincoln Center subway station.
Two 16-year-olds were tracked by officers into the Lincoln Center subway station.
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Getty Images/Andrew H. Walker

UPPER WEST SIDE — A pair of 16-year-old boys were arrested with an illegal handgun after police chased them through the Lincoln Center 1 train station last week, police said.

Police busted Rayquan Wright, 16, and Malik Given, 16, both of Harlem, after responding to a report of gunshots nearby and tracking the teens into the busy station on March 21, authorities said.

Two 20th Precinct officers spotted the teens heading into the subway at West 66th Street and Broadway after a caller reported hearing shots fired at the nearby Amsterdam Houses about 10 p.m. and gave a description to police, according to the criminal complaint and police.

When officers entered the station, they saw the pair standing at the end of the northbound side of the platform away from other passengers, police and the complaint said. The officers approached the teens and asked them to get down, but the duo refused and fled, said Capt. Michael Falcon, commanding officer of the 20th Precinct.

The officers eventually caught up with the teens on the platform and made the arrest, finding Wright standing 3 feet away from the gun and Given about 20 feet away, the complaint said. The recovered Highpoint 380 pistol had its serial number scratched off, the complaint added.

"Nobody was hurt," said Falcon, who commended the officers involved in the bust, including Officer Christopher O'Brien, who initially noticed the suspects. "The [20th Precinct] is not a violent place."

Both teens were charged with third-degree criminal weapons possession and felony criminal firearm possession, the complaint said. Wright is being held on $10,000 bail and Given on $2,500 bail. 

The Legal Aid Society, which is representing Givens, did not respond to request for comment. Elsie Chandler, a lawyer for the Neighborhood Defender Service of Harlem, who is representing Wright, also did not respond to request for comment.