New York Daily News (TNS)
A store security guard and a teenage boy were hospitalized with life-threatening injuries Thursday when the pair fell down an elevator shaft of a Bronx Target following a violent fight, police and FDNY officials said.
First responders were called to the third floor of the box store on Exterior St. near E. 151st St. in Melrose, not far from Yankee Stadium, about 11:15 a.m. when they learned the two had fallen down an elevator shaft, cops said.
The 29-year-old victim, a loss prevention officer for Target, was fighting with the 16-year-old when they rammed the closed elevator door, police sources with knowledge of the case said.
The elevator doors opened to an empty shaft and the two combatants fell inside, cops said.
Firefighters found one of the victims sprawled out on top of the elevator, which was below the open doors, FDNY Deputy Assistant Chief John Sorrocco said at a press conference outside the building.
The second victim managed to fall between the elevator and a wall, landing in the shaft pit three stories below.
“The first victim was moved immediately,” Sorrocco said. “The second victim it was a more difficult operation. He was underneath the elevator. We had to secure the elevator and set the brake. We sent our members down below to treat him while we set up a mechanical advantage to lift that person out of the elevator pit, which was approximately 10 to 15 feet below.”
Firefighters put together a rope system that allowed them to pull the victim out of the shaft. It took an hour to bring him out and put him in an ambulance, Sorrocco said.
It was not immediately disclosed which victim landed in the pit.
The Target loss prevention officer was removed to Lincoln Hospital for treatment. The teen was taken to Harlem Hospital.
Before the fight, the teen had been caught repeatedly sneaking into the Target after he was told to leave, police sources said.
When the loss prevention officer escorted the teen out of the building, the struggle began.
No charges were immediately filed.
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