Bronx Granny Shot in Neck by Teens

An 87-year-old Bronx woman was shot in the neck during a daylight burst of gunfire in Wakefield, and says she did not realize she had been hit until a stranger told her she was bleeding. The Bronx shooting left Elticeal Grant stunned, shaken and trying to make sense of a violent scene she says she never saw unfold.

Grant told The Post she had just walked through a gate and was standing when someone warned her that blood was pouring down her neck. A bystander then rushed over with paper towels and tried to stop the bleeding. Police said Grant was hit near East 224th Street and Barnes Avenue at about 3:50 p.m. on July 31. An 18-year-old man was also shot in the hip and survived. Three 16-year-olds were arrested, with two charged with attempted murder and weapons possession and the third charged with weapons possession only.

Grant said she did not hear or see anyone firing. She recalled walking down the road and noticing only parked cars. After she was struck, she said she began to feel cold and started shivering. The wound was left beneath her earlobe. Her account underscores how quickly a Bronx shooting can erupt and how bystanders often become the first line of help before emergency crews arrive.

Her niece, Keisha McCrea, said Grant has at least 10 grandchildren and some great-grandchildren. McCrea described her aunt as a kind woman who moved to the neighborhood 20 years ago from Jamaica. She said nothing like this happened to her there, adding that it hurts to see violence touch her in New York. The family’s reaction reflects what many residents feel after another street shooting puts an elderly neighbor in the crossfire.