Late Wednesday, police said an 11-month-old child was in critical condition after being struck in the cheek by a stray bullet while sitting in a parked car with her mother in the Bronx.

The girl, who turns one on Friday, was rushed to St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx before being intubated and transferred to Weill Cornell Medical Center in Manhattan, according to authorities. The authorities later reported her condition as serious but stable.

The shooting was the latest in a string of violent incidents that have heightened public anxiety and put Mayor Eric Adams’ promise to strengthen public safety in the wake of the outbreak to the test. In some regions of the city, gun violence has increased dramatically.

According to a source, Mr. Adams met with the girl’s family at the hospital after being briefed on the shooting. The mayor then proceeded to the gunshot scene for a second briefing with detectives, a meeting with anti-violence campaigners, and a press conference.

Mr. Adams described the incident as a “wake-up call” and urged for harder rather than softer methods for arresting violent criminals, particularly those facing weapons charges. He asked the city’s district attorneys and state legislators to follow suit.

“When you look at the video, it was a total disregard for the innocent people who are walking these streets,” he said, an apparent reference to footage from security cameras. “This is not the city our children should grow up in. And we need help.”

At around 6:45 p.m., the girl and her mother were in a car stopped near the junction of Valentine Avenue and East 198th Street. At a press conference, Deputy Chief Timothy McCormack, the Bronx detectives commander, said the gunman chased a second man across East 198th Street from the Grand Concourse into Valentine Avenue, firing at least twice.

According to the authorities, one of the bullets passed through the rear of the car, injuring the baby in the cheek before landing in the front seat.

Mr. Adams said the girl’s father, who was in a nearby drugstore at the time of the shooting, ran out after hearing his wife cry and finding her “holding his baby in a pink coat stained with red blood from his child.” The bloodstained jacket was remained in the street near where detectives were working some hours later.

According to the police, the two males who were involved in the shooting fled, no one was arrested, and the investigation was still ongoing.

Image Credit: Getty

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