Community angered by senseless crime after Burger King employee killed during robbery
EAST HARLEM, Manhattan (WABC) -- There was outrage, pain and calls for an end to gun violence Tuesday after the murder of a teenage cashier at a Burger King in East Harlem.
Community activists gathered outside the Burger King where 19-year-old Kristal Bayron-Nieves was shot during a hold-up while working an overnight shift early Sunday.
The incident was caught on video as the gunman waved the weapon in the direction of employees and ordering them to surrender the money.
The suspect reportedly got away with $100 before the victim was shot in the torso and killed.
Police released a security camera video showing the suspect:
Her family is living with the kind of pain that cannot be imagined.
"Kristal didn't deserve this, she did not wake up thinking she wasn't gonna make it back home," cousin Kiera Fuentes said. "This is hurting our family so much and we just want justice for her already. It's heartbreaking, this shouldn't be happening to anyone, especially teenagers."
Community groups are also calling for an end to the violence and their pleas were loud and filled with pain and grief.
"Gun violence is probably one of the most preventable epidemic that we have," public advocate Jumaane Williams said.
Mayor Eric Adams was also in the crowd. He met with the victim's family on Monday to console them and said he is committed to finding the suspect who committed the senseless act.
"It is unacceptable to me, and the person who did this must be caught," Adams said. "And those who carry guns in my city -- we're going to find you."
Bayron-Nieves' killer has not yet been caught and activists are calling for more to be done to prevent such a tragedy from happening again.
But until police make an arrest, the focus remains on the victim and a family that lost a daughter who was simply working hard late at night when her life was taken in a cold-hearted act of violence.
Crime Stoppers is offering a $3,500 reward for information that leads to an arrest.
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