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Brooklyn woman killed and man injured after suspects shoot into their car: NYPD
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Published Dec 27, 2023
Modified Dec 27, 2023
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Youngking11 via Flickr Creative Commons (CC-BY-SA-3.0)
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Published Dec 27, 2023
Modified Dec 27, 2023
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A Brooklyn family was searching for answers Wednesday after learning the woman they’d raised as a daughter was killed in a hail of bullets as she sat in a car in Queens on Tuesday night.
Police said 28-year-old Clarisa Burgos was in the passenger seat of a black Honda sedan near 127th Street and Liberty Avenue in South Ozone Park when a group of suspects approached the car and began firing, striking her in the head and a 39-year-old man in the driver’s seat in the chest.
The man — who has not been identified by police — survived the shooting and drove the two victims to the 103rd police precinct house in nearby Jamaica. There, just before midnight, Burgos was pronounced dead and the man was taken to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center in stable condition.
Her death left her aunts and sister to break the news to her 4-year-old son.
“We want to know what the hell happened,” her aunt Clover Gallart told Gothamist at the family’s apartment in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. “Why? Why is there another child without his mother?”
As Burgos’ son slept in the next room, not yet aware of what had happened, Gallart and other distraught relatives expressed shock over the incident.
Burgos’ sister Julia said she was taking care of the boy Tuesday night — they saw a movie, went ice skating and got pizza — and didn’t know where her sister had gone or whom she was with. “At the end of the night, I found out what was going on,” Julia said.
As of Wednesday morning, no arrests had been made. Police later said they were looking for three suspects who were wearing dark clothing at the time of the incident.
Julia said her sister put her son before everything and had been working on her real estate license so she could make enough money to buy a home someday.
“She wanted her son to have the world,” Julia said. “Zoos, aquariums, parks, everywhere. Anything he wanted to do. He had every bike that was out.”
Gallart said she and her sister Sonia had raised Burgos as a daughter, adding that Burgos always had a happy demeanor and would walk into places smiling. “She was so full of life, looking forward to getting older,” Gallart said.
Police said they did not yet know how Burgos and the man driving the car were related.
NYPD data shows that before Tuesday, six people had been shot in the 106th precinct — where Burgos and the driver were shot — so far this year. That was down from 16 shooting victims at the same point in 2022.
The city must do more to steer people away from gun violence, Gallart said.
“Start talking to people getting involved, talking to their children,” she said. “Try some other way of putting energy into other things.”
“How do you tell a baby his mommy’s not coming home?” she added.
Tagged
new york city
public safety
jamaica
south ozone park
police
queens
Brittany Kriegstein
Brittany Kriegstein covers all breaking news around New York City, with a focus on crime and gun violence. Got a tip? Email Brittany at [email protected].
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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