New York subway shooting kills youth, wounds three

A dispute between groups of teenagers on a New York City subway train spiraled into a spray of bullets Sunday, leaving one young man dead and three others hospitalized, police said.

A single young gunman shot the four _ in front of other passengers _ between stops on a northbound No. 5 train in the Bronx shortly after 2:30 a.m., police said.

One victim died at the scene; the three survivors were in stable condition later Sunday at Our Lady of Mercy Medical Center, police said. A 19-year-old was treated for a gunshot wound to the abdomen, and an 18-year-old shot in forearm was also treated at the medical center. Both were released to Jacobi Medical Center, said hospital spokesman Fred Yaeger. Another 18-year-old shot in the finger was treated and released to officials for questioning.

The gunman apparently slipped off the train at a stop following the shootings. Police have not made any arrests.

The victims' relatives gathered around the shuttered subway station Sunday morning, hugging tearfully and imploring the public via television to give police any possible leads in the case. They said the victims were coming back from a picnic when they tangled with the gunman and his friends.

"They started fighting at the party, and whoever was up there, they followed them to this train station," said Tornette Story, the mother of one of the victims.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said the case was being handled by police and had no comment.