Yonkers police are still on the hunt for an 8th grader who is wanted in the shooting death of an innocent bystander who pushed her younger sister out of the way of the bullets. Marilyn Cotto Montanez, 18, was walking to a corner store when she was caught in the crossfire of a shooting.
Police say Montanez, a high school junior, was walking with her 9-year-old sister near Morningside and Lake Avenues when she was shot around 6:30 p.m. Thursday.
Police say the shooter is 15-year-old Jamir Thompson, who was aiming at a rival in a dispute over a stolen gold chain. Sources say the two rivals were arguing and the argument escalated to gunshots.
Montanez was caught in the middle of the crossfire. She was hit just as she pushed her little sister out of harm's way. The young girl was not injured, according to NBC New York.
Thompson was ID'd as the shooter after police canvassed the neighborhood for leads in the case. Police believe he may have fled the Yonkers area. The Yonkers Police Department is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.
Grief-stricken Yonkers residents placed flowers at a makeshift memorial near the site where Montanez was shot.
