According to officials, nearly twice as many youngsters have been shot in New York City in 2022 as at the same period last year.
A six-year-old girl was stabbed to death inside her Bronx apartment after attempting to hide beneath the blankets when she and her mother were attacked.
In an interview with Fox News, the aunt of killed six-year-old Rozara Estevez termed the surge in violence in her neighbourhood “disgusting.”
Gabrielle Muniz, 26, and her daughter were discovered dead inside their Bronx apartment on March 5.
According to the NYPD, Muniz’s lover Caleb Duberry, who was not Estevez’s father, murdered the two.
When police arrived at Estevez’s Bronx home to check on her, they discovered her dead in her bed. Three knives, which might have been used in the murder, were also taken from the site by police.
Durberry’s body was recovered in an apartment one mile from the murder site on March 6.
According to the NYPD, he appears to have committed suicide after hearing police officers coming.
Muniz was enrolled in pharmacology school and was expected to graduate in September when she died.
Muniz’s mother, Yanik Rocha, told People Magazine, “My daughter was a wonderful girl.” “She was a single mother with no assistance from her father. She was a tireless worker who served as an example to others.”
Rocha believes Durberry murdered Muniz in a fury after she stopped their relationship.
Durberry had a criminal past and was on parole at the time of the murder. He’d previously been arrested for assault, robbery, and weapons possession.
Estevez’s death was deemed the first child homicide in New York in 2022, bringing the total number of child killings to less than this time last year.
Child shootings, on the other hand, are on the rise. According to Fox News, “as of March 15, 24 children had been shot year to date, compared to 13 recorded during the same period in 2021.”
Children have been shot in gang violence and other instances of senseless violence.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams believes the city can do better.
“We must take action to help the children who are falling through the gaps upstream,” he added in a statement. “We must save them before they are washed away in floods of violence.”
On January 19, an 11-month-old child was shot in the face while sitting in a vehicle with her mother in the Bronx. The shooter was battling with another person when he accidentally shot the girl. The baby is likely to live.
A three-year-old girl was shot as she walked out of a childcare centre in Brooklyn with her father in March. The gunman, once again, is suspected of having a different target in mind, according to police.
In another wrong-target gunshot at January, a seven-year-old boy was shot in Coney Island.
In another case, security footage shows a little kid being beaten and shot inside Brooklyn’s Shepherd Avenue subway station.
Muniz’s family established a GoFundMe page to cover funeral expenses for Muniz and Estevez.
“Thank you again to everyone who has shared and donated! My sister was very unique! Rozara was a shining star on this planet! I still despise the past tense “Giselle remarked on her Facebook page. “They are both wonderful young ladies, and I feel honoured to have been Gabrielle’s sister and Rozara’s titi. Please continue to share and donate if you are able.”
