A 59-year-old Bronx woman has been arrested and charged with murder in connection with the fatal shooting of a 24-year-old man outside her apartment building. The NYPD found Randy Blanche on the sidewalk with multiple gunshot wounds to his head, which ultimately led to his death at BronxCare Hospital.
According to police, Denise Aponte was present during the incident, which allegedly stemmed from an argument. However, investigators say that she did not pull the trigger and that another individual fired the fatal shots.
Aponte lives in a building on Popham Avenue directly across the street from where Blanche was shot. Police are still investigating whether the two knew each other, despite living in different locations.
Residents of the building next to the crime scene were shocked by the violence, which they described as unexpected. "I've been here for two years and I've never even heard a gunshot," said superintendent Christina Mark. However, a criminal complaint filed earlier this week reveals that Aponte was in possession of a firearm at the time of the shooting, but it was not her who fired the fatal shots.
Aponte's arraignment in Bronx Criminal Court was pending as of early Tuesday, and information about her lawyer was not available. No one was home at her apartment when reporters knocked on the door.
The victim's mother expressed her grief and shock, saying "I'm lost for words. She took him from me." This incident marks at least the fourth person to die from gun violence in the 46th Precinct this year, which includes Morris Heights, Fordham, University Heights, and Mount Hope.
In contrast, police data shows a significant decrease in shootings in the precinct this year, with 21 reported through mid-November compared to 47 in the same period last year.
According to police, Denise Aponte was present during the incident, which allegedly stemmed from an argument. However, investigators say that she did not pull the trigger and that another individual fired the fatal shots.
Aponte lives in a building on Popham Avenue directly across the street from where Blanche was shot. Police are still investigating whether the two knew each other, despite living in different locations.
Residents of the building next to the crime scene were shocked by the violence, which they described as unexpected. "I've been here for two years and I've never even heard a gunshot," said superintendent Christina Mark. However, a criminal complaint filed earlier this week reveals that Aponte was in possession of a firearm at the time of the shooting, but it was not her who fired the fatal shots.
Aponte's arraignment in Bronx Criminal Court was pending as of early Tuesday, and information about her lawyer was not available. No one was home at her apartment when reporters knocked on the door.
The victim's mother expressed her grief and shock, saying "I'm lost for words. She took him from me." This incident marks at least the fourth person to die from gun violence in the 46th Precinct this year, which includes Morris Heights, Fordham, University Heights, and Mount Hope.
In contrast, police data shows a significant decrease in shootings in the precinct this year, with 21 reported through mid-November compared to 47 in the same period last year.
can you believe she just stood there while another person killed that young man?!?! 
The fact that she had a gun on her and was present during the whole thing is already super concerning, but to just stand by and do nothing?!?! It's like she didn't even care... or maybe she did, but chose not to react? Either way, it's so messed up. And poor Randy's mom is literally losing her mind over this 
. It's heartbreaking that gun violence is still a thing in our city, especially when we should be seeing numbers decrease, not increase 
.
. Now, I know she was in possession of a firearm at the time of the shooting, but like, why do we even have to talk about this? Can't we just focus on getting rid of these guns and stopping all this senseless violence?
. It's not like we haven't heard about gun violence before, but it seems like every year it just gets worse.
. I mean, according to the police data, there's been a significant decrease in shootings in this precinct so far this year... but then you've got cases like this one, and it makes you wonder if all those efforts are just too little, too late 
.
. And I'm not even going to get into the fact that there's another person out there who fired the fatal shots... it's like, what are we even doing?
. Poor Randy, he was only 24... and for what? 
*cough* firearm possession *cough*. And now Denise is facing charges too... this whole thing is just crazy 
. Anyway, I do hope she gets the help she needs (like we all need it 
) and that her lawyer does an amazing job defending her, 'cause let's be real, she's gonna need it 
i mean we all know gun violence is a big issue, but it's like every year there's another incident like this and it's just devastating 
i guess we can take some small comfort in that, but still it's just too many people getting hurt 
This is such a tragic incident that's shaken the entire community... 
I mean what's going on with all these gun violence incidents 
, but it seems like we're still in the same spot 
. It's crazy to see how many lives are being lost in our community 
. We need more awareness and education about gun safety and the impact of violence 
. I'm rooting for change, let's do better! 
. But seriously though, can you believe there's a woman living in the same building as the victim and she wasn't even at the party 
. I'm sure the NYPD is doing their best to figure out what happened... but let's be real, it's a crime scene, not a TV show 
. I mean, can you imagine walking out of your apartment building and getting shot? It's like, what's the point of even having a safe space if it's gonna be a war zone? 
.
like, what are they doing right? is it just better policing or something else entirely? 
This is just devastating. I'm so sorry for Randy Blanche's family, especially his mom who's going through this nightmare. It's like, one day you're walking down the street and the next thing you know, you've lost a loved one to senseless violence.
... did u hear about the police data tho? shootings are down this year which is kinda awesome 
but then again theres still so many more cases like randy's... lets just say i'm gonna be extra careful if im walkin home from school tonight 
what if she had? what would've happened next? 
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#GunControlNow #JusticeForRandy #SafetyFirst