The shooting that left a 5-year-old girl grievously wounded in The Bronx on Friday was connected to a killing that happened around the corner a day earlier, cops said Sunday.
Police have not named any suspects in the violence that wounded the child as she was riding in the family car near a vigil on East 214th Street for the other shooting victim.
Chief of Patrol John Chell said at a Sunday press conference outside the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore that the crime was linked to “a homicide the night before.”
“I can assure you, there will be closure in this case,” Chell said. “We just promised mom and dad that we will close this case in short fashion.”
The violence exploded just after 7 p.m. during a vigil for Justin Rodriguez, a 26-year-old man fatally shot a block away on Thursday morning.
Police and witnesses have offered conflicting accounts about how the shooting unfolded; witnesses say the bullets came from a passing car, while cops say the triggermen were hidden in the crowd.
A car backfired in what may have been mistaken for gunfire, cops said.
Three or four suspects began shooting, according to the NYPD and sources.
One of their bullets tore through the trunk of the family’s beige Nissan and struck the girl in the back.
On Saturday, the girl’s parents told The Post that their daughter was stable and improving.
The parents said they did not want to be identified by name, and would not detail what happened Friday.
“It was stupid,” the father said of the shooting, before walking away.
Acting Police Commissioner Edward Caban dropped in at the hospital Sunday to bring the girl a small gift of Toy Mini Brands.
“I have children of my own, and I know how I would feel if something happened to my children,” Caban said after his visit. “I think any parent could relate to that. So I’m here first and foremost as a parent to show support.”
The parents have the “full weight and support of the NYPD behind them,” Caban said, adding that the little hero was “in very good spirits.”
“It was just nice to see a smile on her face, and to see a smile on the parents’ faces,” Caban said.
