The wife of the consul general of Sudan was struck and wounded by a stray bullet in Queens, narrowly missing her three-year-old daughter and the infant son she was cradling in her arms, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said today.
Kelly said the victim Mawagad Elbahi 31, “came within an inch of her life,” when a bullet ripped through her shoulder and neck around 3:20 p.m. on Tuesday.
The wife of diplomat Mohamed Elbahi was waiting for a school bus to drop off the couple’s 5-year-old son Ibrahim when gunfire erupted near her Astoria home on 31st Drive.
About three blocks away, two groups from Long Island City HS on Broadway were feuding when a suspect, who was not a student, pulled out a knife and a gun and started firing, police sources said.
“She was clearly an innocent bystander. It clearly has nothing to do with her,” said Kelly.
“There appears to be two groups of young men who were in a dispute. They start shooting carelessly, randomly and put this woman literally within an inch of her life. Clearly she’s a very lucky person,” he said.
The mother was transferred from Elmhurst Hospital to another facility. She is expected to make a full recovery.
The suspects, up to five males, fled the scene and no arrests have been made.
The victim’s husband is assigned to the Permanent Mission of the Republic of the Sudan to the United Nations.