Faisil McCants, Machine Gun Discharge, New York 2025

A 69-year-old woman was tragically killed in a hail of bullets on a public street in East Harlem on August 27, 2025, when Faisil McCants, 18, of New York, New York, fired 15 rounds from a machine gun in a matter of seconds.

The shooting occurred shortly before 12:30 p.m. when McCants and two co-conspirators robbed a drug dealer near East 109th Street and Madison Avenue in Manhattan. During the robbery, a physical altercation ensued, and McCants grabbed a backpack containing marijuana before fleeing north on Madison Avenue.

As McCants turned onto East 110th Street, he pulled out a black firearm equipped with a machine-gun conversion device and fired 15 shots in quick succession in the direction of the victim, striking a 69-year-old woman standing with a walker on the northwest corner of East 110th Street and Madison Avenue.

The victim was transported to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead. McCants was arrested and charged with one count of use, carrying, and possession of a machine gun, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison.

United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, praised the outstanding investigative work of Homeland Security Investigations and the New York City Police Department, saying, ‘This type of senseless violence cannot and will not be tolerated.’

Mccants is scheduled to be sentenced on March 31, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. and faces a minimum of 30 years to life in prison. The case is being handled by the Office’s Violent Organizations & Crime Unit.

Faisil McCants, 18, of New York, New York, is charged with one count of use, carrying, and possession of a machine gun, a crime that carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison. The crime occurred on August 27, 2025, in East Harlem, New York.

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