Kristal Bayron-Nieves was just 19 years old and had a world of dreams ahead of her. This young Puerto Rican moved to New York two years ago and worked in a fast food place in East Harlem, where she wanted to save money to buy a car. But in her place, she met death.
Kristal was shot and killed behind the counter during a videotaped robbery early Sunday. There, she can be seen how a masked robber shot her point-blank.
Kristal sensed or feared something because she had asked to be removed from night shifts at a Burger King in East Harlem because she felt insecure. Her mother spoke with those responsible for the restaurant and from this Friday she was going to start working at a new schedule.
According to police, the thief broke into the 24-hour facility located at E. 116th near Lexington Ave. around 12:45 a.m.
Upon entering, he hit a customer that was eating, a manager in the face with a pistol and then shot Kristal “in the chest.”
“He was going to finish [her night shift] on Friday, this Friday,” the victim’s mother, Kristie Nieves, 36, said in anguish.
The doctors took Kristal to the Metropolitan Hospital, but were unable to save her. She and her family lived a few blocks from the Burger King restaurant.
Now, authorities are focused on finding the thief who fled with an unknown amount of cash and has not been caught. And they have asked the population to provide whatever information they have. In the area, about 50 people roam and it is expected that some of them can give information to the Police.
Just before her last night shift, Kristal had told her mother that she didn’t want to go to work. But Kristie Nieves encouraged her to do the right thing and to present herself as she should. She only had a few days left at that time. “If you want a change, you have to work for him,” her mother had told him, according to local media and was also confirmed by Nathalie Pagán, her mother’s best friend.
“You have to be responsible and you have to go because you are already on the schedule,” her mother told Kristal, according to Pagán. “She feels guilty about it,” added the woman.
Police released a surveillance video on Sunday showing the thief, dressed all in black and wearing a balaclava that covers everything except his eyes, pointing his gun at two people while holding a black plastic bag in one hand. . Authorities have asked people for help in finding the attacker.
For his part, the new mayor of New York, Eric Adams, visited the site and lit a candle in memory of Kristal.
“19 years old, only 19 years old. A person walks in and shoots him. A 19-year-old girl. What are we thinking about? All of our attention is on adults. No one is talking about children. That they condemn me as mayor if I have a city focused only on the safety of adults and not that of children, “said Adams at the door of the restaurant and promised to visit Kristal’s family to provide his support.
“No shift should be unsafe. All shifts should be safe. This mother doesn’t have to feel like she did anything wrong. We abandoned her. ”Adams said that he became mayor on January 1 of this year and promised justice for Kristal.
Kristal just got her GED, a diploma that certifies that he has the same knowledge as someone who finished high school in the United States and took a job at Burger King a few weeks ago to save money, according to Pagán.
“She was still growing,” Pagán said. “She was working for what she wanted at the time, and that was a car,” the woman added.
Kristal had moved to New York from Puerto Rico with her mother, her 14-year-old brother, and the family’s cat two years ago.
“She was really a very beautiful girl, very happy,” said Pagán. “I don’t even know how we’re going to live without her now,” she argued.
The customer who was beaten by a thief had gone not only to eat something but to bring Kristal a flower. Since he met her, he had been impressed with her beauty and he had become an admirer of the young woman.
The investigation continues.
Watch the Video here:
