Photo by David Greene
The NYPD is renewing its call in asking for the public’s help identifying the person seen in the attached photographs and video who is sought in connection with the non-fatal shooting in January of then 11-month-old “Baby Catherine” in Bedford Park.
As reported by Norwood News at the time, police said on Wednesday, Jan. 19, at approximately 6.45 p.m., officers responded to a 911 call regarding the infant who had been shot at East 198th Street and Valentine Avenue, located in the 52nd precinct. “Upon arrival, officers observed an 11-month-old baby girl with a gunshot wound to the face,” police said.
A preliminary investigation determined that she had been inside a vehicle with her 32-year-old mother near the corner of East 198th Street and Valentine Avenue when the suspect who had been chasing a second person fired two shots.
One of the rounds entered the vehicle and struck the child. EMS responded and transported Baby Catherine to Saint Barnabas Hospital, before she was later transferred to Weill Cornell Medical Center in Manhattan in critical but stable condition. No arrests were made and the investigation remains ongoing.
The suspect is described as an adult male with a medium build who was last seen wearing a face mask, a dark-colored, hooded sweatshirt with a white Nike logo on the front, gray sweatpants and black and white sneakers. He fled the scene in a gray 4-door sedan.
Surveillance video showing the suspect, obtained from the incident location, and a surveillance photo showing the vehicle the suspect fled in are attached. As reported, police had also previously released photos and video of the incident in January.
A vigil co-organized by Brenda Caldwell-Paris, president of the 52nd Precinct Community Council, attended by Mayor Eric Adams and a host of other clergy, elected officials and community groups, was held in honor of Baby Catherine a few nights after the shooting on the infant’s first birthday. The following morning, the mayor held a roundtable discussion in The Bronx with various cure violence groups and elected officials to discuss ways to address the plague of gun violence in the borough.
The mayor held another roundtable on the matter with the five district attorneys of the City, and released his blueprint to end gun violence shortly afterwards. Part of his approach, as reported, is the expansion of both the Saturday Night Lights program, and the Summer Youth Employment initiative.
It also includes an effort to stop the proliferation of ghost guns which can be bought in parts online and assembled at home. Norwood News reported recently on the sentencing of one Norwood man who had been apprehended for having done just this. Peter Rivera, 67, of Reservoir Place had purchased the weapon parts online.
A search warrant was executed during which investigators recovered six completed assault-style rifles, none with serial numbers, as well as firearm components capable of being assembled into at least two other assault-style rifles. Investigators also found numerous imitation pistols, unfinished receivers, and a work bench and tools for the construction of guns. Rivera pleaded guilty and got two years.
Earlier this week, Adams, NYPD Commissioner Sewell, and Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund called on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to revoke the federal firearms license of Polymer80. A statement from the Mayor’s Office read, “Ghost guns have been a growing contributor to gun violence in New York City and Polymer80 is, by far, the largest source of ghost guns used in crimes and recovered by law enforcement nationally.”
On Wednesday, May 11, Gov. Kathy Hochul issued a statement in support of Adams’ call, saying in part, “Gun violence is a public health and public safety crisis, and all levels of government must continue working together on aggressive action to crack down on the distribution and possession of dangerous weapons.”
She continued, “To combat the rise of ghost guns, I took action in October to criminalize the sale of ghost guns and require gunsmiths to register firearms they assemble. I also established a nation-leading Interstate Task Force on Illegal Guns, bringing together ten states, federal agencies, and local law enforcement agencies. The Task Force is having an immediate impact, taking hundreds of guns off the streets, and the State Police has specifically seized more than 50 ghost guns this year to date, working with local and interstate jurisdictions. I am grateful to all of the law enforcement partners who are working together on these vital efforts.”
Photo by David Greene
The governor concluded, “While we have made progress, my team and I have been taking a close look at all of our gun laws to ensure we have every tool at our disposal and close every loophole to protect New Yorkers. I pledge that we will continue to work with our partners at the local, state and federal levels to crack down on the distribution and possession of dangerous weapons, get guns off our streets, and save lives.”
On Friday, May 13, the national, non-partisan group, Prosecutors Against Gun Violence (PAGV), sent a letter to both Visa and Mastercard asking them to end their merchant relationships with online “ghost gun” kit sellers and stop the use of their cards to purchase “ghost gun” parts online.
According to the Bronx District Attorney’s office, Mastercard and Visa have previously taken action to promote public safety by ending merchant relationships with extremist and white supremacist organizations, and with illegal websites such as Backpage.com, which facilitated sex trafficking.
Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark and Santa Barbara County District Attorney Joyce Dudley, co-chairs of PAGV, said, “With the assistance of ‘Everytown for Gun Safety‘ we wrote to Mastercard and Visa regarding what is arguably the most serious gun safety problem facing this country: ghost guns. People are buying firearms parts online and building them in their homes.
They added, “The firearm has no serial number, and the purchaser does not undergo a background check, making the guns untraceable and allowing them to get into the hands of youth, the mentally ill and others who should not be armed. Ghost guns are increasingly being used in violent crimes — including homicides, kidnappings, and car jackings —across the nation.”
Photo by Síle Moloney
Nick Suplina, senior vice president of Law and Policy at Everytown for Gun Safety, said, “Stopping the spread of ghost guns must be an all-hands-on-deck effort, and prosecutors know better than most how much of a danger these illegal guns pose. We’re proud to join with these law enforcement leaders in calling on credit card companies to do their part in combating this growing threat to public safety.”
The Bronx District Attorney’s office said on April 11, President Joe Biden announced a significant step to stem the tide of ghost guns. The U.S. Department of Justice has a new rule which redefines firearms to include ghost gun kits purchased online and requires manufacturers/distributors of these components to become federally licensed, perform background checks prior to sale, and put serial numbers on the parts.
Photo courtesy of Fellowship Tabernacle COGIC
However, according to the Bronx District Attorney’s office, this rule will not take effect until August 2022 at the earliest. PAGV is, therefore, asking Visa and Mastercard to take action now to help keep “hundreds if not thousands of ghost guns from being built and used in crimes in the next three months.”
As reported, during the president’s visit to New York City in early February, the National Ghost Gun Enforcement Initiative was announced. Its purpose is to train prosecutors and disseminate investigation and prosecution tools to help bring cases against those who use ghost guns to commit crimes. Biden said, in part, during his visit, “Mayor Adams, you say that gun violence is a sea fed by many rivers. Well, I put forward a plan to dam up some of those streams. You can count on me to be a partner in that effort.”
Photo courtesy of the Office of the President of the United States
As of May 13, year-to-date shootings (143) in the borough were up 2.9 percent compared to the same timeframe in 2021 (139). Year-to-date shooting victims (168) were up 9.1 percent compared to the same timeframe in 2021 (154). In the 52nd precinct, where the incident occurred, year-to-date shootings (13) were up 30 percent compared to the same timeframe in 2021(10), while year-to-date shooting victims (15) were up 50 percent compared to the same timeframe in 2021 (10). Meanwhile, year-to-date murder (7) in the 52nd precinct is up 600 percent compared to the same period last year (1).
On Friday, May 13, the 52nd precinct tweeted that Baby Catherine was released from hospital and was doing well.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at https://crimestoppers.
All calls are strictly confidential.
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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.
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