Teen arrested after fatal shooting near Bronx school
NEW YORK - A 17-year-old suspect is in custody after three teenagers were shot — one fatally — near a high school in the Bronx on Friday afternoon.
New York Police Department officials announced the arrest of Jeremiah Ryan on charges of murder, attempted murder and criminal possession of a weapon.
The shooting happened on East 156th Street near the South Bronx Educational Campus around 1:40 p.m., the NYPD said. The teens were walking home from school when gunfire erupted.
One of the victims was a 16-year-old girl, who was shot in her chest and died. The NYPD identified her on Saturday morning as Angellyh Yambo of E. 156th Street in the Bronx.
"She is the best person ever. You can’t find anyone like her," says Johnny Estrella, Yambo’s friend
Another 16-year-old girl was shot in the leg and a 17-year-old boy was hit in the buttocks, police said. They were in stable condition at Lincoln Hospital.
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Police are still working out the details but said Ryan and another person were gesturing at each other across an intersection and then Ryan allegedly opened fire. The three victims were walking by along the sidewalk.
"We believe that they are coming from school, that they were headed home," Deputy Police Chief Timothy McCormack told reporters at a brief news conference.
Six shell casings were recovered at the scene.
"We lost a 16 year old baby in the Bronx today. We pray for this young girl, for her family, and for the other two victims in the hospital," Mayor Eric Adams tweeted. "It's a tragedy. It's unacceptable. It's why we can't abandon our streets to gun violence."
"We have two families that are completely destroyed right now — our victim's family and our shooter's family," Deputy Police Chief Timothy McCormack said. He described the suspect's mother as "a hard-working woman" whose child had "zero police contact" before his arrest.
The shooting in the Bronx was the latest episode of headline-grabbing violence in the city amid a surge in crime during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Stop shooting, start living. This is disgusting. It’s a disaster. Our kids should not be threatened going to and from school. It’s out of control," says Marisol Rivera, an anti-gun activist with S.O.S. Bronx.
Mayor Eric Adams has made fighting crime a priority since taking office Jan. 1. Homicides are down slightly from this time last year, but gun violence overall remains at levels not seen in a decade.
New York City saw shootings drop to modern-era lows from 2012 to 2019, but that progress was partly erased during the pandemic and social unrest of the past two years. Violence still remains at levels far below the city’s nadir in the 1990s or even in the decade after the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
With The Associated Press.