11-month-old baby girl struck in the face by stray bullet in the Bronx
BRONX, New York (WABC) -- An 11-month-old baby girl is in critical condition after being struck by a stray bullet in the Bronx.
The child and her mother where in a parked car on Valentine Avenue, while her father was inside a nearby grocery store Wednesday evening.
At the same time, one man was chasing another from Grand Concourse onto Valentine Avenue when he fired two shots, according to police.
One of those bullets hit the child in the left cheek and her mother called 911.
Officers found the mother holding her baby outside of the car and quickly escorted the parents and ambulance to St. Barnabas.
The baby was intubated at St. Barnabas and transferred to Cornell Medical Center where she's in critical, but stable condition.
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While there's no indication that this incident was gang-related, the motive is being looked at carefully.
At Wednesday night's police press conference Deputy Chief Timothy McCormack said that close to 1,300 guns were recovered in the Bronx alone last year.
"This is very difficult and completely unacceptable in our city that an 11-month-old baby is shot," McCormack said. "Her birthday is in a few days. We were here last night with a police officer shot in the street. This is unacceptable and needs to stop."
New York City Mayor Eric Adams also held a briefing and delivered emotional remarks on the horrific incident and the recent surge in violent crimes plaguing the city.
I'm going to stay in these streets until this city is safe. I'm not going to surrender this city to violence. I'm not going to lead from the rear - I'm going to lead from the front," Adams said.
Officers are still investigating the incident.
Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website or on Twitter @NYPDTips. All calls are strictly confidential.
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