NJ Cheerleader Shot Execution-Style on Street

Newark's new mayor pledges to stop wave of violence
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 3, 2014 2:27 AM CDT
Updated Jul 3, 2014 3:40 AM CDT
NJ Cheerleader Shot Execution-Style on Street
Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka addresses a large gathering after being sworn in on Tuesday.   (AP Photo/Mel Evans)

Cheyanne Bond wanted to be a nurse, but the money her family had saved for the 17-year-old's college tuition is now being spent on her funeral. The cheerleader, who graduated from high school just two weeks ago, was shot dead in Newark Sunday night, and police haven't identified a suspect or a motive. "They told her to get on her knees and they shot her in the head execution-style," her uncle tells CBS New York. "Just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time." Cheyanne was walking with her ex-boyfriend, who was also shot but survived.

Police are still looking for witnesses and haven't ruled out robbery as a motive, reports the Star-Ledger. The day after the shooting, dozens of people gathered at the spot where the teenager was killed in the city's third murder in the space of 24 hours, and 43rd so far this year—two more than at this time last year, which was the city's deadliest since 1990 with 111 murders. At his inauguration on Tuesday, Mayor Ras Baraka pledged to stop the wave of violence. "Some are even afraid to patronize their corner stores or worse, still mourning the deaths of their loved ones from senseless violence," he said. (In another tragic shooting death, a Florida man was killed in his home last month—as he welcomed his newborn home.)

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