In the early evening of September 28, 2022, in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, 17-year-old Shayma Roman was fatally shot. She had just stepped outside her grandmother's apartment building on Eastern Parkway to speak with her 19-year-old sister. It was a routine moment that turned tragic when two men approached and opened fire on a group of people standing nearby. A bullet struck Shayma in the chest, and she was the only person injured in the incident.
Her sister was by her side and held her until paramedics arrived. Shayma was rushed to Brookdale Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Family and friends were left reeling from the sudden and senseless loss of a young woman described as a star basketball player who loved her pets and, most of all, her sister, with whom she was exceptionally close. Investigators believe the shooting was gang-related and that Shayma was not the intended target. She had no criminal record and was considered an innocent bystander who was tragically in the wrong place at the wrong time. In the days that followed, a makeshift memorial of flowers and candles grew outside the building where she was shot, a testament to the community's grief.
The investigation into Shayma's death led to an arrest the following month. On October 24, 2022, police apprehended 23-year-old Malik Bob in connection with the shooting. He was subsequently charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon. Authorities indicated that a second suspect was still at large. The New York Police Department offered a reward for information that could lead to an arrest in the ongoing investigation.
