Woman on Way to Pick Up Niece from School Killed by Stray Bullet on NYC Street

A woman died after being hit in the torso by a stray bullet in the Bronx, law enforcement sources tell NBC 4 New York.

Authorities responding to a call about gunfire on East 154th Street in Melrose at about 1 p.m. found the 45-year-old victim, identified as Maribel Cavero-Reyes, with an apparent gunshot wound to her torso, police said. 

Sources said a gunman fired at another person hundreds of feet away from where the woman was crossing the street. The bullet missed, however, and fatally hit the woman. 

A witness who wanted to remain anonymous recalled, "I was standing on the sidewalk walking across the street. I hear an explosion like a flat tire. I turned around and I hear she's screaming. I saw she was facing down on the ground."

The woman was pronounced dead after being taken to Lincoln Hospital.

Cavero-Reyes' 13-year-old niece said her aunt was on her way to pick her up from school when she was shot.

"My aunt picked me up from school, she brought me to school, she took care of me. She helped me with my struggles," Gabriela Encalada said. "She was always there for me. She acted as if I were here second daughter." 

Police are looking for two suspects in the shooting, sources said.

Anyone with information about the crime is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.

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