Azsia Johnson, the young mother who was shot and killed while pushing her three-month-old baby in a stroller in New York City, had reportedly made multiple domestic violence complaints to police prior to her execution-style murder.
Ms Johnson’s heartbroken mother accused the police of failing to protect her 20-year-old daughter from her allegedly abusive ex-boyfriend, with investigators now searching for the baby’s father as a person of interest in her slaying.
Ms Johnson – an aspiring nurse and mother-of-two – was walking with her infant near 95th Street and Lexington Avenue in Manhattan’s Upper East Side at around 8.30pm on Wednesday night.
Police said a hooded gunman approached from behind and fired a single shot to her head at point-blank range, killing her. The baby was unharmed.
The victim’s family reportedly told investigators that Ms Johnson was planning to meet the baby’s father that night.
The NYPD has refused to confirm the baby’s father is the person of interest but said investigators are exploring domestic violence as a possible motive.
The shooting unfolded in one of the city’s most affluent neighbourhoods and just blocks from a playground, just days after the Supreme Court loosened US gun laws.
