Cops arrested a 21-year-old gangbanger Monday for the murder of an innocent Bronx grandmother who was gunned down while running errands last week.
Joshua Evans was busted on murder and manslaughter charges for the broad daylight shooting that killed Enriqueta Rivera, 71, and wounded a 34-year-old woman Thursday in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx.
Evans was also hit with charges of attempted murder, assault and criminal possession of a weapon.
Evans allegedly opened fire at a member of a rival gang during an argument on East 138th Street near Brook Avenue just after 12:30 p.m.
The gunman missed his target and struck the two women in the busy commercial corridor.
“They are two innocent women, two Bronx residents, two unintended targets both struck by senseless gunfire,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said at a Monday press conference.
Rivera — described by those who knew her as a beloved grandmother and community member — was walking on the sidewalk with a shopping cart when she was shot through the heart, police said.
She instantly crumbled to the ground as Evans and his intended target fled from the carnage they caused, according to footage obtained by The Post.
The Bronxite, who a neighbor said was the matriarch of her family, was rushed to Lincoln Medical Center but couldn’t be saved.
“She loved her family,” longtime neighbor Luis Gutierrez, 46, said. “Every other Saturday her two daughters would come by and have a family gathering, a lot of music, food. Just having a great time together.”
The other victim was shot once in her left arm and was treated at Lincoln Medical Center. She is expected to make a full recovery, police said.
Evans lives just two blocks away from where he allegedly shot the two women and has one prior arrest for a robbery in 2019.
He was picked up by police Monday morning after investigators learned he was hiding out at a relative’s home.
“The message from our police department is clear: if you carry an illegal firearm if you recklessly pull the trigger, if you harm anyone in our city, the NYPD will find you,” NYPD Police Chief Edward Caban said at the Monday presser. “We will arrest you and you will be held accountable. Gun violence or any type of violence for that matter will never be tolerated.”
The brazen violence was one of three shootings over the past week that left four innocent bystanders wounded. An 8-year-old boy was struck by a stray bullet just after he stepped off his school bus in the same Mott Haven neighborhood Wednesday afternoon.
Investigators believe the gun violence is a result of worsening gang activity in the Big Apple.
“We believe that these shootings have gang nexus or crew nexus to them,” NYPD Assistant Chief Benjamin Gurley said at a news briefing following the shooting of Rivera.
