High school junior Marilyn Cotto Montanez saved her sister by pushing her away to protect her from a man opening fire with a handgun. The man was firing at two other men who were running to attack a possible friend of the gunman in Yonkers, New York, at 6:30 pm on April 25.
Marilyn’s older brother Julian Cotto said, “She was an angel watching over us. She proved that when she pushed our sister out of the way... she gave her life for our little sister’s life. In my book, she’ll always be my hero.”
Marilyn wanted to go study medicine and was an honor-roll student.
“She was about to go to college to be a doctor,” said a relative, “She was that good with her grades. She was honor roll three times in a row.”
“Last night, we experienced a tragic event where a young person lost their life due to gun violence,” said police commissioner Charles Gardner in a statement. “The Yonkers Police is dedicating every available resource to apprehend the person responsible for this heinous act.”
“They’re killing people for no reason,” Montanez’ sister Celimary Ramos said, “Little girl didn’t have nothing to do with it… and you all took my sister’s life for no reason.”
The suspects escaped from the scene, two people were taken later to police custody and an investigation is ongoing.
