Woman Fatally Shot at NYC Vigil for Friend Who Was Killed for Stepping on Gang Member’s Foot

A Queens woman was fatally shot Monday while attending a vigil for a man who was shot earlier that same day, the New York Daily Newsreports.

The shooting took place after 11 p.m. in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Weeksville, the New York City Police Department told NBC News. A 32-year-old mother of two, Shalimar Birkett, was found in the street before being pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. Birkett was reportedly shot in the head after a gunman, suspected to be a member of a gang, exited a vehicle and opened fire, according to NYDN. Police say she was not the intended target of the shooting.

Earlier that day, 31-year-old Miles Bobbsemple was shot at the same location, at around 12:30 a.m. He was dropped off at the hospital after having been shot in the chest, police say. Sources told NYDN that he was shot after accidentally stepping on a gang member’s foot. Both investigations remain ongoing.

“It’s like a nightmare,” Birkett’s mother, Patricia Hamilton, told the outlet. “She was an outgoing, fun person, loved by everyone— all her friends and family…. Why? Why you had to come shoot and kill my daughter? She was just there.”