Woman shot and killed while pushing baby stroller in New York City

A woman pushing a baby in a stroller was shot in the head at close-range and killed in Manhattan Wednesday night, police said.

The three-month-old baby was unharmed, and the relationship between the 20-year-old woman and the baby was unclear Wednesday, police told CNN.

The shooting happened just after 8:20 p.m. in Manhattan’s Upper East Side, police noted. Authorities are searching for a suspect.

“A woman is pushing a baby carriage down the block and is shot in point blank range. It shows just how this national problem is impacting families,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said during a news conference. “It doesn’t matter if you are on the Upper East Side or East New York, Brooklyn.”

The shooting came hours after New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a legislation package aimed at tightening gun laws in the state.

The Democratic governor’s move is in response to the US Supreme Court’s ruling last week that struck down a century-old New York state gun law that placed restrictions on carrying a concealed handgun outside the home.

On Wednesday, Hochul said a conceptual agreement has been reached that includes a series of protections expanding open carry gun restrictions in sensitive locations, including in federal, state and local government buildings, health and medical facilities as well as at daycares, parks, zoos, playgrounds and on public transportation. Educational institutions and places of worship would also be protected under the measure, Hochul said.

“The Supreme Court decision was a setback for us, but I would call it a temporary setback,” Hochul said during a Wednesday afternoon news conference.

Hochul said she hopes to sign the legislation Thursday after a special legislative session convenes.

Other gun control efforts are underway in the state, including lawsuits filed by New York City and the New York Attorney General’s Office against 10 companies selling parts for so-called ghost guns, officials said. The legal action aims to hold distributors accountable for the proliferation of mail-order components used to make untraceable guns that lead to shootings. (CNN: Excluding headline)