11-month-girl shot dead in car in upstate New York

Publish date: 2024-07-30

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An 11-month-girl was killed and two other young girls were injured in a drive-by shooting in upstate New York, police said.

Dior Harris was just weeks away from her first birthday when she was shot multiple times shortly before 7 p.m. Sunday while in the backseat of the car in Syracuse, CNY Central reported.

“She was just a baby,” her mom, Desiree Seymore, told the outlet. “She was so strong. She didn’t even cry when it happened, but we lost her.”

Seymore and her cousin, Shakema Buckmon, had been driving with their daughters when someone opened fire from a car headed in the opposite direction, Syracuse.com reported.

“They just started, ‘pow, pow, pow,’ just started shooting at my car, and then just drove away,” Buckmon told CNY Central.

Syracuse police detectives and officers gather outside the scene of the shooting that left Dior Harris dead. AP

While the women were unharmed, their daughters were struck by the gunfire, police said.

Dior was rushed to Upstate University Hospital, where she died of her injuries, CNY Central reported.

“I tried to save her, I tried to get to the hospital as fast as I could, I tried, I tried but she had already passed before we could make it down the street,” Buckmon told the outlet.

Dior’s mother, Desiree Seymore, and Shakema Buckmon were unharmed in the incident. Family Handout

Buckmon’s children, who are 3 and 8 years old, are expected to survive, police said.

No motive has been released for the shooting.

Chavez R. Ocasio, 23, was arrested Monday night in connection to Dior’s death, a law enforcement source told Syracuse.com.

It’s unclear what his role was in the shooting death.

Dior was rushed to Upstate University Hospital, where she died of her injuries, CNY Central reported. AP

He was booked on charges of murder, criminal possession of a firearm, tampering with physical evidence and violation of parole, the outlet reported.

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