'Please don't forget her': Father of Bronx girl struck by stray bullet pleads for justice
LONGWOOD, Bronx (WABC) -- A community is rallying and demanding justice after an innocent 11-year-old girl was gunned down in the Bronx, struck by a stray bullet from a gunman on a scooter.
The bullet traveled half a block and struck Kyhara Tay in the stomach just before 5 p.m. Monday on Westchester Avenue in the Longwood section.
Police say a man was being chased by two suspects on a scooter who opened fire on him but missed. Tay went into a nail salon for help and collapsed.
She was rushed to the hospital, where she later died.
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Her father, Sokpini Tay, gave a tearful plea at the event.
"Please have mercy for her," he said while crying. "Please don't forget her. Please. She's a baby. She wasn't grown up yet. She didn't have time to grow up. I'll never get a chance to see her again."
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams was joined by Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson, City Council Member Rafael Salamanca, District Attorney Darcel Clark, and advocates at the "Justice for Kyhara Tay" rally to call for resources, support, and change.
"To the community, if you know who these people are, say something," Clark said. "This is our job. This is our community. We've got to flip the script in them."
According to the NYPD, there have been 65 shootings, three of them fatal, with victims under 18 so far this year.
Salamanca, who represents District 17, which includes Longwood, visited Tay's family Tuesday morning.
"I want the shooter caught," Sokpini Tay told Salamanca. "I want justice."
Grief counselors are at Bronx Academy for Multi-Media, where Tay was a sixth grade student as classmates mourned the loss of a friend.
A $10,000 reward is being offered for information leading to an arrest.
Anyone with information is urged to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). You can also submit tips by visiting the CrimeStoppers website at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org or by messaging on Twitter @NYPDTips.
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