A beloved Bronx grandmother was shot and killed while running errands Thursday afternoon when a suspected gang member shot a rival in a busy shopping area.
Footage obtained by The Post shows Enriqueta Rivera, 71, crumpling on concrete in broad daylight near a crosswalk in Mott Haven as the gunman and his target scatter in opposite directions.
“She was a sweet woman,” said Luis Gutiérrez, 46, a lifelong neighbor. “A beautiful person. She had just retired. She was enjoying her free time. She had two teacup Yorkies that she adored.”
Gutiérrez said Rivera was the matriarch of a large family and frequently entertained relatives at his apartment, and also occasionally prepared food for his wife and children.
“She loved her family,” he said. “Every other Saturday, her two daughters would come and have a family gathering, lots of music and food. “Just having a great time together.”
The grieving neighbor, who lit a memorial candle in front of her apartment building on Friday afternoon, said the area has been engulfed in violence.
Grandmother Enriqueta Rivera was shot to death Thursday afternoon.
A sign near the scene of Rivera’s murder.Brigitte Stelzer
“It’s like a child growing up in Kuwait, in the Gaza Strip,” he said. “These are things you just have to adapt to.”
Carmen Pagán, 65, a worker at a hair salon near the murder scene, said locals are afraid to walk the streets amid rising crime and flying bullets.
“Business is down,” he said. “They don’t want to be around the corner. [The violence] It will continue. It’s happened three days in a row. And they’re not going to do anything. The police, the mayor, never do anything about it. “We are all alone here in the Bronx.”
Police said Rivera was desperately trying to flee the sound of gunshots when she was hit in the back.
Neighbors left a memorial candle next to Rivera’s apartment.Brigitte Stelzer for NY Post
The combatants were arguing on East 138th Street near Brook Avenue shortly after 12:30 p.m., when one of them began firing bullets into the busy shopping area, police said.
Another innocent bystander, a 34-year-old woman, was shot in the arm and is expected to survive.
“Those bullets hit two innocent people who were on the street,” NYPD Deputy Chief Benjamin Gurley said at a news conference Thursday night.
The scene of Rivera’s murder in Mott Haven.Peter Gerber
The deadly violence was just one of three shootings last week that left four innocent bystanders injured, including an 8-year-old boy who was hit by a stray bullet just after getting off his school bus Wednesday afternoon.
Investigators believe the shootings could be related to worsening gang activity.
“We believe these shootings have a gang or crew nexus,” Gurley said.
Police are investigating possible gang links to the murder.Peter Gerber
Rivera was described as a caring local person who recently retired.Brigitte Stelzer
Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark characterized Rivera as a beloved figure in her local community who was simply “standing there minding her own business.”
“This has to stop…Enough is enough,” Clark said.
“This is happening in broad daylight,” he stressed, as authorities begged witnesses to come forward. “We cannot allow this to continue happening.”
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Source: vtt.edu.vn