A group of teenagers and young adults ran amok and harassed pedestrians along a mile-long stretch of midtown near the Jacob A. Javits Center, where the New York International Auto Show is held, police said.
Chief NYPD spokesman Paul J. Browne said additional officers were on patrol because similar problems have happened during past auto shows.
"Young men looking for trouble afterwards," he said of those arrested. "There have been incidents over the years. It's something we watch over and we prepare for it in advance."
Police made 54 arrests, mostly on charges of disorderly conduct. Police weren't sure how many of those arrested knew each other, or what sparked the shootings that began shortly after midnight.
A man was shot in the ankle at Eighth Avenue and 40th Street around 12:10 a.m. Shortly after, a woman was hit with a BB gun several blocks northeast at Seventh Avenue and 51st Street.
About two hours later, two women were shot - one in the elbow and another in the thigh - near Seventh Avenue and 34th Street.
The shootings represent the second major instance of gunfire in the area in recent months, where police have worked for years to stop petty crimes and hustlers targeting tourists. Police and a street hustler armed with a machine pistol exchanged shots in December in Times Square - shattering a Broadway theater ticket window and scattering crowds - before police shot the man dead.
Overall, crime in the city continues to decrease despite an uptick in murders, felony assaults and rapes.
Auto show spokesman Chris Sams said no one stood out as suspicious at the show Sunday.
"We had an amazing crowd, a very family-oriented crowd. The type of person who makes an auto show great, people listening to the presenters," he said.
Sams said security at the show is tight, and officials work with police. Visitors are checked when they arrive.
The auto show runs until April 11 and shows the latest and greatest in automobiles, from the smallest car on the U.S. market, an $11,900 Smart Fortwo, to a Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe costing $518,800. The show was expected to attract more than 1 million people - the largest attendance of any auto show in the country.
