A 71-year-old Hispanic woman's life was tragically cut short on a Bronx street corner, the unintended victim of a brazen daytime shooting. Enriqueta Nilda Rivera, a beloved grandmother and retired maintenance worker, was caught in the crossfire of a suspected gang dispute on September 14, 2023. Her death sent shockwaves through the Mott Haven community, leaving her family heartbroken and residents fearful.
Rivera was running errands with her shopping cart around 12:30 p.m.
near East 138th Street and Brook Avenue when gunfire erupted. Police believe the gunman was targeting a rival gang member. Surveillance footage captured the harrowing moment Rivera fell to the ground. She was struck in the back by a stray bullet and was later pronounced dead at Lincoln Hospital. A 34-year-old woman was also shot in the arm during the incident but survived.
Her daughters described her as a "beautiful person inside and out," who was always happy and cherished spending time with her family. She had worked for Major League Baseball and the Food Network before her retirement. Her family's grief was palpable as they gathered outside the 40th Precinct station house after an arrest was made, holding photographs of Rivera and demanding justice. One of her daughters, Neliza Abad, expressed her pain, stating, "Justice will be served for my mother. Everyone will know her name, she will not be an unknown."
Within days of the shooting, the U.S. Marshals and the NYPD Regional Fugitive Apprehension Team apprehended a suspect. Twenty-one-year-old Joshua Evans was arrested and charged with murder, attempted murder, manslaughter, and criminal possession of a weapon. Authorities reported that Evans had a prior arrest record and lived just a few blocks from the scene of the shooting. At his arraignment, Evans pleaded not guilty. His arrest brought a small measure of relief to a community shaken by the senseless violence. As Rivera's family confronted the alleged killer during his perp walk, their raw emotions were on full display as they shouted, "Rot in Hell!" The case against Joshua Evans is currently pending in the Bronx criminal court.
