Suspect arrested in NYC shooting where two children dodged bullets on a sidewalk

• The suspect connected to the shooting in New York captured on video near two children was arrested.
• Michael Lopez, 27, was charged with murder and assault, ABC News reported.
• The children were not injured during the incident, police said.

Police in New York arrested and charged the 27-year-old man connected to the shooting on an NYC sidewalk near two children who were just inches away from the target.

Michael Lopez -who police say is an alleged gang member and has a history of 12 arrests - faces multiple charges including murder and assault, according to ABC News. He was taken into custody Friday morning.

Graphic footage of the incident was posted by the New York Police Department earlier this month. The children, a 5-year-old boy with his 10-year-old sister, were near their home in the Bronx when the gunman fired several shots, according to WABC-TV.

"Yes, those are children with the victim, who were very fortunately not injured," the department said.

-NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) June 18, 2021

The victim, a 24-year-old, was transferred to the hospital with injuries after being struck on his back and leg, an NYPD spokesperson told Insider in a statement.

"They'll shoot anybody, at any time, in front of kids, during the day. This is what it's turned into," NYPD Chief of Department Rodney Harrison said, NBC New York reported. "We need our police officers out here and we've got to make sure we deploy more cops, especially out here in the Bronx. We're seeing a lot of the violence going back and forth."

Gun violence in New York City has spiked since last year amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, the record number of deaths from gun violence across the country also skyrocketed.

As the summer approaches and restrictions are lifted, law enforcement has pointed to concerns about the potential violence ahead, according to the Associated Press.