Cheyenne Baez, 17, died after she was shot in the back about 1:15 a.m. in the courtyard of an apartment building on E. 128th St. in East Harlem, police said.
‘That’s my only daughter,’ said a woman who identified herself only as the slain girl’s mother. ‘She was just 17.’
The East Harlem gunplay also wounded an unidentified 30-year-old man. Cops found him a few blocks away, bleeding from a gunshot to the thigh.
He was in stable condition at Harlem Hospital on Sunday, but was so far refusing to cooperate with investigators, police said.
[pagebreak]
The motive behind the shooting was unclear. Police officials would not say whether they believe Baez, who was pronounced dead at Harlem Hospital, was the gunman’s intended target or a bystander.
As police investigated the crime scene, a group of teenagers waited on a nearby street corner, eying a double parked Range Rover. The teens said they believed it was the gunman’s vehicle.
There were no arrests in either investigation. Murders are up 13% citywide. There have been 386 killings this year, compared to 341 at this point last year, according to NYPD data through Sept. 26.
