Vigil held for Enriqueta Rivera, grandmother killed by stray bullet in the Bronx
NEW YORK -- A vigil was held Saturday for a grandmother who was killed by a stray bullet while crossing a street in the Bronx.
She's one of many innocent bystanders shot in the borough this week.
A number of anti-violence organizations joined forces to call for peace while remembering 71-year-old Enriqueta Rivera on the corner of East 138th Street and Brook Avenue, where she was gunned down Thursday.
Emotions were high as her children and grandchildren prayed and honored her memory.
Police continue to investigate a number of shootings in the Bronx this week that left eight people injured, six of them innocent bystanders, including Rivera and an 8-year-old boy who is still recovering in the hospital.
Police believe several of the shootings this week are connected and may be gang-related.
Among the people in attendance at Saturday's vigil was the mother of that second grader, who says the violence has to stop.
While calling for justice, Rivera's oldest daughter had a message for the shooter.
"She was a beautiful woman. She didn't deserve, she did not deserve to die like this. On the street that she loved," Magaly Gomez said.
"I decided to also come and support this family because it's really, it's still close to home. It's right around the corner where my baby got shot. This is around the same time my baby was getting off the bus just as well as that lady was walking to the supermarket," the 8-year-old shooting victim's mother said.
The boy's mom tells us he is expected to be released from the hospital Sunday.
Sadly, Rivera's family will be planning her funeral.
An arrest was made in the shooting that injured the 8-year-old. Police are still searching for the gunman wanted for Rivera's death.