The innocent 11-year-old girl fatally shot in broad daylight by a gunman on a moped in New York City has been identified as Kyhara Tay, police announced on Tuesday, May 17.
Tay was visiting a nail salon with a friend just before 5 p.m. on Monday when the shooter suddenly opened fire, according to NBC New York. Authorities said that the suspect was targeting another man at Westchester Avenue and Fox Street in Foxhurst.
Cops said the bullet whizzed onto the next block instead and unfortunately struck the pre-teen in the stomach area. According to police sources, young Kyhara was outside New Kim Nails on Fox Street when the shooting occurred.
Stray bullet hits stomach of Kyhara Tay
Tay was waiting for a relative who was inside the salon when she was shot. Witnesses said Tay walked into the nail salon after being shot and then passed out. Lillian Johnson, the girl's 18-year-old friend, told the New York Post that she was right next to her when the shooting happened.
Johnson said Tay came into the store like she was trying to get away from the gunshots. Tay was holding her stomach when she entered the store, saying, "Ow!" as she was in obvious pain. Johnson said Kyhara soon passed out after that.
Johnson added that Kyhara sat down in the chair after being shot, and then she started getting unresponsive with Tay leaning over on the chair. Johnson was emotional when recalling the incident, saying, "And then they pulled down her jacket, checked the wound [where] she got shot in the stomach and then shortly after that she ended up passing out on the ground."
Yuberkis Bena came to Kyhara Tay's aid after shooting
Tay was rushed to Lincoln Hospital, where she eventually succumbed to her injuries. Yuberkis Bena, who was on the scene and came to Tay's aid on Monday, returned the following day with a white fluffy teddy bear to remember the young victim.
Bena said she was standing right next to Kyhara when the shots rang out. She added that her son was still in the car when the shooting started. The 48-year-old told her son, "Get down! Get down and get down in the car," when she heard the shots.
Bena told the New York Daily News that she then took her son out of the vehicle, with both of them going to the salon to take cover. There she found the injured Kyhara, who Bena thought was just nervous at the time. That was not the case at all, with Bena saying that Kyhara fell over on the ground when she went inside.
Bena said she saw her bleeding. Bena, who pulled Kyhara's T-shirt, asked the lady in the nail salon to give her napkins as she was pressing cause the shooting victim had a hole. Bena screamed, "She shot! She shot! She got shot! Call the ambulance." Bena broke down crying when recalling the incident, saying this could have happened to her son, who was standing right there.
