Cops interview mom of girl, 16, shot in head on Lower East Side, hunt for gunman

NYPD detectives were interviewing the combative mother of a 16-year-old girl found shot in the head inside their Lower East Side home as they track a man seen fleeing the scene, police sources said Friday.

Cops interviewed the mom on Friday as the teenage girl recovered at Bellevue Hospital.

Both were in the apartment on Stanton St. near Ridge St. around 3:30 p.m. Thursday when a gun was brandished and the teen was shot in the head.

It was not immediately clear what sparked the shooting. The apartment remained a cordoned-off crime scene on Friday.

Building residents said at least nine people live in the apartment, including four women and five children. The oldest child is about 16, the youngest just 1.

Police sources said that the mom called 911, but was then “highly uncooperative” with police and first responders as they rendered care and rushed her wounded daughter to the hospital.

A young man with curly hair and wearing a gray tank top and shorts was seen fleeing the scene and is considered a “person of interest” in the investigation.

Cops were scouring the area for surveillance footage that could help them track down the shooter.

Police also executed a search warrant in the apartment and recovered a single bullet-shell casing from the gun that fired the shot, as well as some narcotics, police sources said.

No arrests have been made.

Despite Friday’s gunplay, the number of shootings in the city has dropped by 20% this year as of Aug. 10, from 555 this time last year, to 441.

Before Thursday, so far this year, three shooting incidents had occurred on the Lower East Side, which is protected by the NYPD’s 7th Precinct, one more than last year, police said.

Anyone with information regarding the shooting and the suspect who ran off is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.

Originally Published: August 15, 2025 at 3:53 PM EDT