Two men shot near memorial of slain 16-year-old Clarence Jones

Two men were shot and wounded Wednesday behind a Harlem building near the memorial for a teenager gunned down just days earlier, police said.

Police responded to a shooting around 7:39 p.m. on E. 115th St. and Third Ave. after a gunman went through an exit gate into the backyard of a building and opened fire, striking a 27-year-old man twice in the torso, and hitting a 24-year-old man in the arm, sources told the Daily News.

“It started in the back and then there were shots,” one witness, who did not want to be named, told The News. “I came down and [one of the victims] was in the lobby. His blood was everywhere. I’m traumatized.”

The two victims were taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in stable condition, police said. It was unclear what sparked the violence, and there were no immediate arrests, police said.

Witnesses at the scene of 16-year-old Clarence Jones‘ nearby memorial were uncooperative, sources told The News.

Jones was gunned down Oct. 24 near W. 124th St. and Lenox Ave., nine blocks from his home. A motive for his slaying is still unknown. The teen was on probation for a case involving at least one robbery, and was a suspect in another armed robbery in 2023 just two blocks from his home, sources told The News.

“We don’t know what happened. We don’t know about target. We know somebody killed our nephew. They just took his life senselessly. He was only 16,”  Jones’ aunt, Desiree Murray, 59, said at the time.

Police are asking anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All tips are confidential.