69-year-old woman shot to death in East Harlem, police say

A 69-year-old woman was fatally shot in broad daylight in East Harlem on Wednesday afternoon, police said.

The incident happened just before 12:30 p.m. at East 110th Street and Madison Avenue, a block from Central Park, according to NYPD officials.

Authorities said the woman was shot in her face, and she was pronounced dead at Morningside Hospital. Police identified her as Robin Wright, who lived just down the street.

Juanita Arnold, 60, said she was walking with Wright to get Chinese food when she heard a half-dozen gunshots and Wright was hit.

“I turned around and she was on the ground,” Arnold said. “ I asked her, ‘Are you all right?’ She said, ‘No.’ I said, ‘Were you shot?’ And she said, ‘Yes.’ I had to look around and feel myself to see if I got hit.”

Arnold said she didn’t see who opened fire.

Wright's walker remained on the sidewalk near a pool of blood and crime-scene tape in the hours after the shooting.

Police said the shooter fled in an unknown direction and they were still investigating.

NYPD data shows there were four shootings in the 23rd Precinct, which covers East Harlem, this year through Aug. 24, down from six by the same point in 2024.

Some neighbors on Wednesday called for more consistent police presence in the area.

“ Our community does not want a police state, but we also do not want a community where people can just feel free discharging illegal firearms and we’re losing seniors and pillars of our community,” said William Smith, a Democratic district leader.

This is a developing story based on preliminary information from police and has been updated.