Newly minted interim Police Commissioner Edward Caban on Sunday visited the hospital-bound five-year-old girl who was shot in the back over the weekend as department sources say they are tracking a potential suspect in the shocking shooting.
NYPD’s brand-new top cop is already facing his first major criminal investigation at the helm after the youngster was seriously wounded on his first day on the job.
The little girl was sitting in a car at White Plains Road and East 213rd Street in the Bronx at around 7 p.m. on July 1 when bullets rang out, piercing the vehicle and striking her in the back. The girl’s father was also in the car at the time but remained unarmed.
Police sources said the family had been attending a vigil for a man who was fatally killed at the same location one day prior. The child was rushed to Montefiore hospital, where she received emergency surgery and is still recovering.
“I have children in my life and I know how I would feel if something happened to my children, I think any parent can relate to that,” Acting Commissioner Caban charged outside of the hospital on Sunday afternoon. “The parents have the full weight and the support of the NYPD behind them.”
Caban joined with NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell, briefly speaking with journalists after visiting the child. While sources indicated the shooting that injured the child may have been a botched retribution attempt for the homicide that occurred there a day before the vigil, Chief Chell promised that the case will be closed in “short fashion.”
In light of the recent spate of shootings, Chell and Caban said tht additional police resources have been moved to troubled spots to combat the bullet storm. The five-year-old victim is currently on the mend, according to the commissioner.
“She was in very good spirits, and I was honored to be there with her because she is a hero,” Caban said.
Sources within the department tell amNewYork Metro that the investigation is moving rapidly and that investigators are looking closely into individuals of interest, promising the family swift justice.
