A 21-year-old tourist was struck by a stray bullet while walking with his family in New York’s Times Square.

Samuel Poulin was walking outside the city’s biggest hotel when he was struck by a bullet at around 5:15 pm Sunday afternoon.

According to police, a group of CD vendors were arguing on West 45th Street when one pulled out a gun.

Poulin was hit in the back and rushed to Bellevue Hospital. His wounds are not life-threatening but people in the area were reportedly frightened and shocked by what they had witnessed.

Police are now checking through surveillance footage to identify the suspects.

Shell casings were found on West 45th Street outside the Minskoff Theater.

Sydney Santana, one of the witnesses, told the New York Post: “We were sitting at Juniors when a loud pop happened. And everybody ran for the hotel, they ran inside.

“It really is bad that (the shooting) happened in Times Square.”

The New York Marriot Marquis is the city’s biggest hotel with 1,966 rooms.

The shooting comes after three bystanders were struck by bullets in May, including a 4-year-old child. The suspect fled the city but was apprehended in Florida days later.

According to the department crime figures online, 777 people have been shot throughout New York City in 2021.

The latest shooting incident comes more than a week after another shooting in Bronx almost took the lives of two young children.

One person commented: “Well we are repeating history in New York. They will continue to do so until they get tired of the crime and then vote in another conservative administrations to clean it up before they repeat the process again.”

Another wrote: “Heartbreaking what has happened to the young man and the city. Time to turn the rascals out!”

A third added: “Reason why I won’t go to nyc.”

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