Mom of Four Gunned Down in New York While Holding Toddler's Hand
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}NEW YORK -- A mom of four kids, including a blind 11-year-old girl, was gunned down on a New York street while holding her two-year-old son's hand, the New York Post reported Tuesday.
"The two-year-old keeps asking for his mom. It's just heartbreaking," the boy's father, Juba Lassiter, said.
Lassiter -- who, according to neighbors, recently separated from the victim, 29-year-old Claudia Millan -- said that he received a phone call from investigators who said that "we have to have a talk to you" but added that he did not yet speak with them.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Millan and her son walked to a store in The Bronx and were returning home when she was shot once in the head on Park Avenue between 178th and 179th streets at about 10:30pm local time Sunday, police said.
Neighbor Michael Escobar said he chatted with Millan and her toddler for a half-hour about "dogs and kids" shortly before the shooting.
Not long after Millan and the boy continued on their errand, Escobar said, there was a loud bang.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I heard one shot. My dogs in the front yard started going crazy," he said. "I ran ... and saw Claudia on the ground with her little kid [standing] over her."
The neighbor scooped up the boy, took him inside and then went out to help Millan, he added.
"I ran to Claudia with a wet rag to try and stop the bleeding," Escobar said. "The blood was pouring out of her."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Police and medical personnel rushed to the scene, and Millan was taken by ambulance to St. Barnabas Hospital, where she was pronounced dead on arrival.