11-Month-Old N.Y. Girl Riding in Car Is Killed Weeks Before 1st Birthday with Mom Feet Away

Dior Harris.Photo: Facebook

Chavez R. Ocasio was charged this week with murder, criminal possession of a weapon and tampering with evidence in connection with the death of 11-month-old Dior Harris. Harris was fatally shot Sunday while she was riding in a car with her mother and three others, including two girls, 3 and 8.

Ocasio was arraigned Tuesday in a Syracuse court and entered a mandatory plea of not guilty to all charges. Attorney information for him was not immediately clear.

Dior’s mother, another woman and the three children were driving near their home in Syracuse in the early evening on Sunday when someone in another vehicle opened fire on their car, CNY Central reports. Dior’s mother and the other woman were not injured. All three children were shot.

“[Dior] suffered multiple wounds,” Fitzpatrick says.

According to CNY Central, Dior died of her injuries at Upstate University Hospital.

Fitzpatrick says the 8-year-old was shot in the hip, and a bullet grazed the head of the 3-year-old.

“We are very lucky we didn’t have two or three homicides,” he says. “We used to be the safest large state in America. Not anymore.”

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A motive behind the shooting is unclear.

“It is a relatively high crime area but you should still be able to drive down the street in relative safety,” Fitzpatrick says about the shooting. “We have a lot of work to do but we are doing it pretty expeditiously. We will follow the evidence.”

Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call the Syracuse Police Department at (315) 442-5222.

source: people.com