New York

Police Seek 15-Year-Old Boy in Connection With Shooting Death of Innocent Yonkers High Schooler

“Little girl didn’t have nothing to do with it… and you all took my sister’s life for no reason," Montanez sister said

What to Know

  • A 15-year-old boy has been identified as the suspect in the death of an innocent high schooler who was shot in the head in Yonkers
  • Marilyn Cotto Montanez, 18, died after she was shot in the head in Yonkers on Thursday. Police say she was an innocent bystsander
  • Police are now searching for Jamir Thompson, 15, of Yonkers, in connection with Cotto Montanez' death

A 15-year-old boy has been identified as the suspect in the death of an innocent high schooler who was shot in the head in Yonkers, police say. 

High school junior Marilyn Cotto Montanez, 18, died after she was shot in the head near Morningside and Lake avenues around 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Yonkers police said.

Police are now searching for Jamir Thompson, 15, of Yonkers, in connection with Cotto Montanez' death. 

Wanted Poster Jamir Thompson
Yonkers Police Department
Jamir Thompson.

Police say two groups got into a dispute after Thompson stole a gold chain from another person shortly before the shooting on Thursday. At some point during the ensuing chase, Thompson pulled out a handgun and fired at least one shot, hitting Cotto Montanez in the head, according to police.

Cotto Montanez was walking to the corner store near her home with her 9-year-old sister when she was hit, police said.

Thompson may have fled the New York metropolitan area after the shooting, according to police. The Yonkers Police Department is offering a $5,000 reward for any information that leads to his arrest. 

Family members said Cotto Montanez had dreams of becoming a surgeon. 

“They’re killing people for no reason,” her sister Celimary Ramos told News 4 between tears on Friday. "Little girl didn’t have nothing to do with it… and you all took my sister’s life for no reason.”

In a statement on Friday, Police Commissioner Charles Gardner called the shooting "a tragic event where a young person lost her life due to gun violence." 

"First and foremost, our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the victim," he said. "The Yonkers Police Department is dedicating every available resource to apprehend the person responsible for this heinous act."

An investigation is ongoing.

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