‘Senseless’: 7-month-old baby in stroller killed in New York City shooting, police say

A 7-month-old baby girl in a stroller was shot and killed Wednesday afternoon when two people on a moped drove past a busy Brooklyn street corner and one of them opened fire, New York City authorities said.

One of the suspects is in custody and being held as part of an unrelated investigation, New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch told reporters at a news conference Wednesday afternoon.

The other suspect is the subject of a “massive NYPD manhunt,” Tisch said.

The shooting was reported at about 1:20 p.m. on the corner of Humboldt and Moore streets in the East Williamsburg area, according to police.

Several adults, including two people with strollers, and several other children, were nearby when two males approached the intersection on a moped, Tisch said. The rear passenger on the moped pulled out a gun and fired at least two shots toward the corner, Tisch told reporters, citing surveillance video.

“Today our city suffered a horrifying, senseless tragedy: a 7-month-old child being pushed in a stroller along a busy Brooklyn sidewalk was shot and killed in broad daylight,” the police commissioner said.

The baby was taken to the hospital where she was pronounced dead.

After the shooting, the two suspects collided with an oncoming car about two blocks away, police said. Both men were thrown from the moped. The rear passenger, who fits the description of the shooter, was taken to the hospital and is in police custody, Tisch said.

The other passenger took off, but police later located the moped.

Police believe the shooting is connected to gang activity but aren’t sure who the intended target of the shooting was, Tisch said.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani called the shooting a “devastating reminder” of the work that remains to be done to combat gun violence.

“A life that had barely begun was taken in an instant,” Mamdani said. “There are no words that can mend the heartbreak this family is feeling now.”