Bullets Fly Over Broadway as CD Scammer Is Fatally Wounded

By Andrew Gans
11 Dec 2009

Raymond Martinez, a 25-year-old rapper from the Bronx who was running a CD-hawking scam in Times Square, was fatally wounded Dec. 10 when he opened fire on police using a semiautomatic weapon, according to the New York Post.

The incident began around 11 AM when Martinez – who had a bench warrant out for his arrest — tried to flee from police, who were asking him for his ID and the tax stamp that is required by law to sell CDs.

In the Marriott Marquis breezeway on Broadway, where passengers are dropped off, Martinez managed to fire two rounds from his automatic weapon before it jammed. Bullets shattered store windows, and during the second round, bullets flew toward the Marriott Marquis box office, according to The New York Times. (The Marriott Marquis is currently the home of the limited engagement of Irving Berlin's White Christmas.) Another bullet, the Post reports, hit the window of the Broadway souvenir shop Broadway Baby. Luckily, no passersby were injured.

Police Sergeant Christopher Newsom was able to fire four shots, which hit Martinez. Martinez was taken to Roosevelt Hospital, where he later died.

Martinez had been arrested for selling CDs earlier in the year and was also wanted for a Bronx assault.

In the CD scam, Martinez and others would approach "tourists, ask them their names, then write their names on the CDs and demand $10," according to the Post.

The Dec. 10 performance of Irving Berlin's White Christmas was not affected, and the box office is currently open for business, according to a show representative.