A woman pushing a pram has been tragically shot dead on Manhattan's Upper East side in New York City, according to multiple reports.
The victim was a 20-year-old woman who was out for a stroll pushing her three-month old baby girl in a pram on Wednesday evening.
Officers responded to a 911 call and rushed to the scene to find the woman with a gunshot wound to the head.
READ MORE: Tributes paid to nine-year-old 'superhero' Ruairi McDonnell after untimely death from rare illness
According to the NYPD, the young woman was shot once in the head at point-blank range by a suspect who approached her from behind at Lexington Avenue and East 95th Street around 8:25 p.m.
NYPD Police confirmed the woman was taken to hospital and pronounced dead.
The department said: “She was taken to Metropolitan Hospital Center where she was pronounced dead.”
Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell, said, “The shooting happened around 8:23 p.m. on East 95th Street, when a gunman approached the 20-year-old woman and shot her once in the head “from a very close range,” The Washington Post reports.
Sewell added: “The gunman was dressed in all black, including a hoodie, and was last seen running east on East 95th Street.”
The alleged gunman fled the scene, while the police advised the public to avoid the area as an investigation was ongoing.
NYPD said: “Due to a police investigation, avoid the area of East 95th Street & Lexington Avenue on the Upper East Side, Manhattan."
"Expect emergency vehicles & road closures in the surrounding area.”
Speaking at a press conference about the horrific incident, New York City Mayor, Eric Adams said:
"We’re going to find him and bring him to justice. But we need the justice system to make sure this innocent person receives that justice that we’re asking for."
The mayor highlighted how gun violence is a growing nationwide problem in the US, and is impacting families.
“Wednesday’s shooting shows just how this national problem is impacting families,” he said.
Mayor Adams continued: “And it doesn’t matter if you are on the Upper East Side, or East New York, Brooklyn.”
"This entire day we have been addressing the problem of overproliferation of guns on our street, how readily accessible they are and how there is just no fear in using these guns on innocent New Yorkers."
After the press conference, a New York City council member, Julie Menin, took to Twitter to share her condolences, the post read:
“To think that this incident happened in front of a school with a mother pushing her baby in a stroller is beyond comprehension. My prayers are with the victim’s family. This tragedy is simply unspeakable and this violence must stop.”
She added the NYPD had confirmed the incident was being investigated as a domestic incident.
The post said: “@NYPD19Pct has informed us that they have a Person of Interest in the shooting of the mother last night in my district. Domestic violence is being investigated,” NBC news reports.
Many cities in the US, including New York, have shown concern with rising cases of gun violence that have sparked gun safety debates.
According to The Gun Violence archive, data published today reveals there have been 21,776 gun violence deaths in the US so far in 2022.
READ MORE:
Gardai launch 'full review' into the murder case of Sophie Toscan du Plantier
Man named as 'foot soldier' for Kinahan gang facing jail over dangerous driving
Irish holidaymakers warned of expected Covid situation in Spain in July
Newly-formed Irish work syndicate wins big in Lotto draw as they share big win
Gardai evacuate residents after 'hazardous chemicals' found inside house
