A five-year-old girl had a close call in the Bronx on Wednesday evening after a stray bullet grazed the side of her head as she walked along the sidewalk with her mother.
Photo by Dean Moses
A five-year-old girl had a close call in the Bronx on Wednesday evening after a stray bullet grazed the side of her head as she walked along the sidewalk with her mother.
According to sources familiar with the investigation, two groups believed to be affiliated with gangs came upon one another outside of 1000 Southern Avenue in Longwood at around 5:40 p.m. when at least two people began opening fire. At least six shots erupted, shattering the glass door of the Gourmet Deli and Juice Bar, located at 1007 Southern Boulevard. Another bullet struck a 5-year-old child across her right ear as she walked with her mother.
Sources say the mother immediately jerked her child backward when the bullets flew. The girl was rushed to Harlem Hospital by EMS, where she was listed in stable condition and is expected to survive.
Ricardo Aquino Suarez, a worker inside a nearby clothing store said he heard the shots unfold.
“I was working in the store, I jumped to the floor and covered myself, I didn’t want to catch a bullet,” Suarez told amNewYork. “I saw her get put in the ambulance. I didn’t see her crying.”
Police sectioned off a large portion of Southern Avenue as they pored over shell casings and performed a video canvas of the area.
This comes less than a month after 7-month-old Kaori Patterson-Moore was struck in the head with a stray bullet in Brooklyn, killing her.
“I heard the shots and I laid right down,” said 25-year-old Hamood Ahmed, a clerk at Gourmet Deli & Juice Bar. “They were shooting from one side to the other side,” he said. “A bullet went through the glass in the door.”
“I was scared. I’m just glad I’m alive,” Ahmed added.
Police are questioning three persons of interest, sources say; however, it is believed the shooters remain at large. The investigation remains ongoing.
Anyone with information regarding this shooting can call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS (for Spanish, dial 888-57-PISTA). You can also submit tips online at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, or on X (formerly Twitter) @NYPDTips. All calls and messages are kept confidential.
