Mom Killed Protecting Child in Mott Haven

Gunplay kills mom protecting kid

BY Kerry Burke, Edgar Sandoval and John Lauinger
DAILY NEWS STAFF

She was the most innocent of victims - and died protecting her little boy. A single mom was struck and killed by a stray bullet Tuesday when she walked out of a Bronx laundermat, smack into the crossfire of a gang gunfight, police said.
Aisha Santiago, 25, was hit in the chest as she attempted to take cover with her 9-year-old son on the doorstep of her building on E.146th St. in Mott Haven shortly before 3:30 p.m.
"She died defending her boy," said Santiago's devastated cousin Becky Lee Serrano, 19. "She covered him and went to the ground and got hit.
"She was just walking from the laundry place, minding her own business," pushing her laundry cart, Serrano added.
The shootout involved at least one gunman firing west on E.146th St. at a rival group of at least two shooters, who returned fire.
"It was two groups of gangbangers shooting it out," a police source said.
As bullets whizzed down the block, Santiago was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
"She was a totally innocent bystander," the source said, noting Santiago died at the scene.
The gun battle injured an unidentified 25-year-old man, who took a bullet in the leg and was in stable condition at Lincoln Hospital last night, police said. The wounded man is believed to have played a role in the shootout, and would likely be collared, police sources said.
Horrified relatives said Santiago lived with her mother and worked to support her son Anthony. "She was taking care of her kid all by herself. She was trying so hard. It's a big loss," said cousin Julio Serrano. He called Santiago "precious" and said he would often help her out by baby-sitting for young Anthony. "They used to call her Goldie, because she was a jewel," he said.