Crime & Safety
East New York Mourns 27-Year-Old Woman Shot Dead, Leaving 3 Kids Behind
Salaya Figueroa was shot in the back and died two hours later in the hospital, cops said.
UPDATE: Figueroa's sister-in-law has started a GoFundMe to raise money for Figueroa's funeral and the lives of her three young children.
EAST NEW YORK, NY — The East New York community is in mourning after 27-year-old Salaya Figueroa was fatally shot in the back early Wednesday morning outside the Louis Pink Houses, a local housing project, according to the NYPD. Figueroa leaves three young children behind.
When cops arrived to the scene, they saw Figueroa had "a gunshot wound to the back," the NYPD said in a statement.
Find out what's happening in Brownsville-East New Yorkfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
27-year-old Salaya Figueroa shot and killed last night at the Pink Houses. Family says she was always willing to go out of her way for anyone that needed help. Story at noon & 3:30 #eastnewyork #news12bk
A photo posted by Katie Cummings (@katiecummingstv) on Nov 30, 2016 at 6:01am PST
R.I.P. respected mother of 3 gunned down. Salaya Figueroa. pic.twitter.com/JO3nWgYrWj
— MISSYPROOF (@MISSYPROOF) December 1, 2016
However, sources told the New York Daily News that the young mom died while she was waiting for a CAT scan at Brooksale University Hospital. Paramedics reportedly couldn't find any wounds on her body, and concluded she was in stable condition while she was a patient at the hospital.
Police said they responded to a call of a person shot at 1308 Loring Ave. (one of the Pink Houses buildings) just after 12:30 a.m.
Find out what's happening in Brownsville-East New Yorkfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
A little over two hours later, at around 2:50 a.m., Figueroa was declared at Brookdale University Hospital, police said.
It's unclear at this point how Brookdale paramedics failed to see a wound that NYPD officials said was obvious at first sight. Patch has reached out the hospital, and to the NYC Medical Examiner, to try and get to the bottom o these discrepancies. Check back or sign up for the Brownsville-East New York Patch email newsletter for updates.
"She was amazing," Figueroa's sister Jada Harris told Brooklyn News 12, choking back tears. "She truly will be missed. She's leaving her three kids behind, and it's sad. Like, three kids!"
The victim's loved ones placed candles in her honor at the site where she was killed.
Brooklyn News 12's police sources said Figueroa was "conscious when officers arrived on scene, but that she was uncooperative." An NYPD spokesperson could not confirm this information to Patch.
No arrests have been made, and the investigation into Figueroa's death is ongoing, according to the NYPD. It's unknown whether Figueroa or her boyfriend — who was with her at the time of the shooting — were targeted by a shooter, the NYPD said.
Lead image via Google Maps
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.