71-year-old woman killed in South Bronx shooting: NYPD

A 71-year-old woman was shot and killed in the South Bronx on Thursday afternoon by a stray bullet after two young men got in a fight, according to police.

At around 12:35 p.m. one man fired “multiple shots” at the other, instead hitting two innocent bystanders, NYPD Assistant Chief of Patrol in the Bronx Benjamin Gurley said in a news conference.

The elderly woman was shot in the back and killed and a 34-year-old woman was injured, Gurley said.

“Numerous shell casings for a semiautomatic weapon” were found at the scene, Gurley said.

On Thursday, police had placed at least 12 shell casing markers on the sidewalk where the shooting took place.

Surveillance video obtained by Gothamist shows two women standing at a sidewalk food stand when suddenly, one grabs her arm and they both run into a nearby deli. Footage from inside the deli shows the woman in distress as patrons and workers come to her aid.

Ambilio Alvarado Catalan said he was organizing stock inside the deli when he heard gunshots. At first, they sounded like they were blocks away, but then a woman bleeding from her arm ran into the deli. Catalan said he recognized her as a Honduran street vendor.

“The woman was crying, screaming for help, and we wanted to help but we didn’t have anything. I brought her a paper towel with alcohol, but she was bleeding a lot,” Catalan said. “Within three minutes, the firefighters were there.”

He said he hasn’t seen anything like it before, and the incident left him feeling uneasy.

“I don’t think I’ll sleep very well tonight,” he said.

Police have not arrested anyone in connection with the incident, but they believe the shooting was triggered by a dispute over gang territories — which police said also caused a separate shooting in the same area on Wednesday night.

A third shooting in Mott Haven on Tuesday left an 8-year-old boy injured. He is expected to recover.

“This has got to stop,” Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark told reporters. “Four victims in the last three days … That’s bullets to skin. Enough is enough. This is happening in broad daylight.”

The NYPD will station more police officers in the area, Gurley said.