(NewsNation) — A 20-year-old woman was fatally shot Wednesday night while pushing her 3-month-old infant daughter in a stroller on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, police said.
Police say a man wearing all black — from head to toe — walked up from behind the woman and shot her in the back of the head at point-blank range.
The shooter then quickly turned and ran away.
The woman was near the intersection of Lexington Avenue and 95th Street around 8:30 p.m. when she was shot, police said in a statement. She was taken to Metropolitan Hospital Center where she was pronounced dead, authorities said.
The 3-month-old baby was not hurt, police said, but was taken to a hospital for medical evaluation. City Council member Julie Menin, who represents the area, said on Twitter that the victim was the child’s mother. Her identity has not been released pending notification of family.
The shooting happened across the street from a playground where children were playing last night.
“I heard a loud boom sound coming from about here, and then, like a couple seconds, I just saw a bunch of people just running,” one kid who was playing on the playground described her recollection of the incident, “And then apparently, I’m not sure if it’s the guy that shot the woman, but I saw someone with a black hood, all black running toward that block. At first I was like, this is a firework. I’m sure we will be fine. Then, I realize it was a gunshot and it was actually serious.”
NYPD detectives are using every resource available to track down the shooter, specifically looking for any cameras in the area that may have recorded the gunman.
“We’re going to find this person that’s guilty of this horrific crime. We’re going to find him and bring him to justice. We need the justice to make sure this innocent person receives that justice that we’re asking for,” New York City’s Mayor Eric Adams said.
He also said it’s not a question of if they will they find the shooter, it’s only a matter of time.
New York, like many other U.S. cities, has contended with rising concern about violent crime, though New York City police statistics show shootings have declined about 12% and murders 13% so far this year, compared with the same period last year. But murders remain at their second-highest level since 2012.
“More guns in our city means more lives lost,” Adams said during a news conference at the site of the shooting. “It means more babies crying, as those who love them lie dead.”
He said the over saturation of illegal guns and dangerous people on the streets is fueling the gun violence plaguing this city and others across the country.
On Wednesday, the mayor announced he has filed a federal lawsuit against five online retailers that he said has illegally sold gun parts that are used to make “ghost guns.” He believes the untraceable guns have contributed greatly to the gun violence in the city.
No arrests have been made and the investigation is ongoing, police said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.