NEW YORK — A Bronx man was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison Tuesday for illegally possessing ammunition in a 2023 shooting that injured a 5-year-old girl, U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton announced.
Austin Morrishow, 27, fired multiple rounds at fleeing vehicles during a sidewalk vigil on June 30, 2023, striking the child in the chest. Morrishow, a convicted felon prohibited from possessing ammunition, had previously pleaded guilty. U.S. District Judge Loretta A. Preska imposed the maximum sentence allowed by statute.
“Instead of accepting responsibility, Morrishow remained a fugitive for eight months,” said Clayton. “Today’s sentence sends an important message: if you threaten the lives of innocent New Yorkers through senseless gun violence, we will find you and prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.”
The shooting occurred during a vigil for a gun violence victim on a residential Bronx street. When a nearby vehicle backfired, Morrishow and others dropped to the ground. Morrishow then emerged, took a shooting stance over the hood of a parked car, and fired his .40 caliber pistol at three vehicles he believed posed a threat.
Co-defendant Curtis White, 28, joined in, chasing the cars and firing his .380 caliber handgun. A bullet fired by Morrishow struck the young girl sitting in the backseat of one of the cars. She survived after narrowly avoiding damage to vital organs.
The gunfire left multiple shell casings and bullet fragments across the street, along with shattered car windows and visible bullet holes in vehicles. Morrishow fled the scene and remained at large until February 2024. He was serving federal supervised release at the time for a prior firearm conviction tied to a drug case.
White was arrested weeks after the shooting and sentenced in July to 51 months in prison and three years of supervised release.
In addition to the 15-year sentence, Morrishow must serve three years of supervised release and pay restitution to the child victim.