Woman killed, 2 children injured in Bronx shooting; suspect arrested
NEW YORK -- A man has been arrested after allegedly killing a woman and injuring two children in a shooting in the Bronx on Saturday.
Officers were sent to an apartment building at East 203rd Street and Valentine Avenue around 5 a.m. for a report of an assault.
When they arrived, they found a woman who had been shot multiple times in the torso, a 16-year-old boy who had been shot once in the buttocks and a 9-year-old boy who had been shot once in the arm.
All three victims were taken to local hospitals.
The woman was later pronounced dead. She has been identified as 40-year-old Saida Xiomara Bonilla Mejia.
Both children, who police say are Bonilla's nephews, are in stable condition and expected to be OK. Police say they were not intended targets.
Neighbors said they heard yelling before the shooting and were in complete shock.
"For me, I'm safe between my door and here. But in reality, this is the first time I, I never thought someone's gonna shoot in my building. I've been here for seven years, not this building, but in the city, and this is another thing that shocked me," a neighbor said.
Police say they have arrested 37-year-old Rosvin A. Mejia Castillo in connection to the shooting. He is facing a number of charges including murder, attempted murder, criminal possession of a weapon and endangering the welfare of a child.
According to police, the suspect was the Bonilla's boyfriend.
Devastated loved ones came to the apartment, including her younger brother Kalvin Mejia-Reyes.
"She was cool with everybody, like she don't deserve that, she passed away," he said.
Mejia-Reyes says Bonilla had told him that her boyfriend abused her in the two years they lived together.
"When he was living with my sister, nobody came to my sister's house because of him," he said.
Family says Bonilla was out late Friday night and that when she returned home, Mejia Castillo was waiting in the hallway of her apartment.
"I don't have words to express that I feel so bad because I was not here to protect my sister," Mejia-Reyes said. "He was ready for her, waiting for her, just to kill her."
Bonilla's family described her as a great cook and a talented hairstylist who immigrated here from Honduras about 10 years ago.
