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Suspected Times Square shooter accused of injuring Marine rejects plea deal
By Louis Casiano
Published August 17, 2021
The 16-year-old suspect charged in the shooting of a Marine in New York City's Times Square rejected a plea offer in court Monday.
Under the terms of the deal offered by Manhattan prosecutors, the teenager would have been sentenced to seven years in prison for the June 27 shooting of Marine 2nd Lt. Samuel Poulin.
During a court appearance, he shook his head "no" as a prosecutor read the offer, the district attorney's office told Fox News.
The teen suspect faces several charges, including attempted murder and reckless endangerment, in connection with the brazen shooting. Prosecutors officered the seven-year prison sentence on two charges: first-degree attempted assault and second-degree weapons possession.
He has pleaded not guilty and faces 25 years in prison. He was allegedly aiming at a street performer when he opened fire in the busy tourist area.
One of the bullets ricocheted and struck Poulin, who was with his wife and family at the time, in the back. He was hospitalized but was not seriously injured.
Poulin graduated among the top students at The Citadel military college in South Carolina in May with a bachelor's degree in physics, a spokesman for the school told Fox News.
He was commissioned as a Marine officer a few days before graduation, the spokesman said.
Samuel Poulin during his senior year at The Citadel. (The Citadel)
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In a statement just after the shooting, Citadel President, retired Gen. Glenn Walters, said Poulin "exemplifies the kind of principled leaders" the college aims to produce.
The suspect's neighbors in his Brooklyn neighborhood told the New York Post he is known for causing fights in the area.
"I know he is always in trouble," one local said.
In May, Times Square was the scene of another shooting where three people, including a 4-year-old girl, were struck by gunfire meant for someone else.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/times-square-shooter-marine-plea