Mystery gunman targets New York luxury high-rise

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The buildingImage source, CBS
Image caption,

The 50-storey building (dark, in centre) was hit by gunshots twice in less than 48 hours

Police are investigating two incidents in which gunshots were fired at a luxury apartment building in Manhattan in the span of less than 48 hours.

No residents were hurt in the seemingly random shootings, in which bullets crashed through windows into two flats.

According to New York media, the bullets may have been fired from a rooftop or balcony across the river.

"I'm petrified for my life," resident Ilene Epstein told the New York Post, external, which first reported the shootings.

"I moved into this apartment because of the river. I have beautiful views," said Ms Epstein, a 55-year-old real estate agent who has a flat facing the East River.

"I'll move out of my building before I walk around with a bullet-proof vest."

Image source, CBS

The apartments at One East River Place were hit by gunfire late on Thursday night, and then again on Saturday, less than 48 hours later, police tell BBC News.

New York Police Department Police (NYPD) spokeswoman Carrie Reilly confirmed to the BBC that both incidents were being investigated as cases of reckless endangerment.

In both incidents, the victims were awoken by the sound of their glass windows breaking.

Police later recovered bullet fragments from the flats, which are on the 14th and 32nd floors of the 50-storey rental building.

According to local network Pix 11, external, residents are now using plywood boards to shield their apartments from incoming bullets.

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According to local media, investigators are looking into the possibility that the shots were fired from Roosevelt Island, across the river.

One resident told the New York Post: "I'm paying close to $10,000 (£7,700) per month in rent so I can use the fitness centre and be shot in the head in my apartment."