21-year-old bystander fatally shot during apparent Bronx gang dispute

MORRIS HEIGHTS, Bronx (WABC) -- A 21-year-old man was fatally shot in a Bronx playground Tuesday evening, apparently when he became caught in the crossfire of a gang dispute.

Authorities say Yunior Manon was shot in the back of the head while sitting on a bench inside Morton Playground in Morris Heights just before 7:30 p.m.

The gunman appeared to have been aiming at another group in what may be a gang-related shooting, police said.

Video obtained exclusively by Eyewitness News shows people running for their lives as bullets fly at the playground. Minutes later, officers with flashlights can be seen walking through the area.

"He was a kid adored by everyone," mother Ana Peguero said through a translator. "He had his age but was still a baby, loved by everyone."

Manon was with three friends at the time, and some of them returned to the playground Wednesday. They sat at the same table they were at when the gunfire rang out.

"I don't know who could have done this to my kid, an angel," Peguero said. "Why did they take an angel?"

He was the oldest of three boys, and when he was born, the right side of his body was paralyzed. Still, he'd often played basketball at the playground.

"It wasn't a delinquent they killed, it was my brother who didn't do anything," brother Yeison Manon said. "Who didn't have any problems with anyone. But this has affected this family. He was a person of God to us."

Manon has no criminal record or history of gang affiliation.

Police are looking for two men who fled on bicycles. The video shows two people doing just that, but it is not clear if they are the suspects.