MANHATTAN, NY – A disturbing incident unfolded inside a lower Manhattan condo building on Monday night when a 57-year-old woman was shot dead while attempting to protect her husband and son from two violent robbers. Ying Zhu Liu, a home health aide, was fatally shot in the face during the encounter with the criminals inside the condo building located at 44 Market St., Two Bridges.
The two masked assailants, described by the police as suspects, allegedly trailed the victim’s 61-year-old husband into the elevator of the building with the intention of robbing him. Liu’s 32-year-old son, awaiting his father in the eighth-floor hallway, was drawn into a confrontation with the robbers when the elevator door opened. He was subsequently pistol-whipped by one of the robbers.
The commotion from the altercation attracted Liu’s attention, who confronted the intruders with a stick, ultimately losing her life in the face of escalating violence. Miraculously, both Liu’s husband and son escaped without any physical harm.
The perpetrators fled from the scene and took Liu’s husband’s cell phone with them. As of early Tuesday, authorities were still on the lookout for the duo. Police have released descriptions of the individuals, with one donning a bi-colored hooded jacket and the other in full black attire.
Liu’s grieving son expressed his disbelief over the tragic event and noted that he did not recognize either of the suspects. Meanwhile, the crime scene on the eighth floor of the condo building showed grim signs of the violent incident, with traces of blood smearing the walls and floors more than 12 hours after the incident.