EAST HARLEM — A regular evening commute was shattered Monday when a gunman opened fire, striking a MTA bus twice and sending passengers scrambling for cover, authorities said Monday.
Children and the elderly came inches from injury or death when one of the bullets pierced the window of the M3 bus driving north on Madison Avenue near 103rd Street at 5:15 p.m.
An unidentified 30-year-old man standing beside the the bus was shot in the foot and rushed to New York Presbyterian Hospital in stable condition, police said.
The other bullet lodged itself into the side of the M3, an MTA spokeswoman said.
Bus passengers described a scene of havoc when the bullet smashed through the glass.
"It was a very loud sound, a piercing sound," said Barbara Hines, 75, who was on her way back to her East Harlem home. "It was absolutely chaotic. People began to fall. There was a little girl who was screaming."
Hines was sitting a few inches away from where the bullet lodged itself into the bus's side.
"I would've been hit in the head if the bullet had penetrated," she said.
One of the passengers suffered a knee injury while diving for cover, an FDNY spokesman said.
Police did not know the motive for the shooting and the incident remains under investigation.