Uncle says niece died from gunfire while protecting toddler
A woman who was friends with a woman fatally shot on Youngstown's East Side tells 21 News she died trying to protect her child from a hail of bullets.
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - A young mother is dead after a hail of bullets is fired into her apartment late Thursday night.
The family of 23-year-old Crystal Hernandez is devastated beyond belief, telling 21 News they've learned from Youngstown Police that 45 shots were fired on McBride Street at the Victory Housing Projects.
Many of those shots fired into the apartment of the young mother, killing her as she literally laid down her life for her two-year-old son.
On the 911 tape, one caller tells the police dispatcher: "It's like a whole shoot out here. Y'all need to hurry up and come on ma'am. They're running right now. You can see the footprints and everything." The dispatcher asks the caller how many people are out there? The caller responds that there are like five of them and you can see their footprints in the snow. When asked how many shots he heard, the caller said, "About 15, 20, 30, 40, about that many, there's a whole bunch of shots."
Neighbors on McBride Street are rattled after hearing a volley of gunfire.
When the shooting stopped, 23-year-old Crystal Hernandez was dead inside of her apartment. Her uncle Christian Ramos got the called in the middle of the night and went in search of answers.
"That's when I talked to the detective and he told me basically that it was 45 shots that were fired. And one was straight to her neck and that was the shot that killed her," Ramos said.
Ramos says his niece was a make-up artist and mother who was loved by everyone.
"My niece was a great mother, great human being, she didn't have to die like this," Ramos said.
The family says Hernandez died trying to shield her son from the hail of gunfire that was coming through the apartment. So she died not only as a hero but as a mother who desperately loved her son.
"She shielded the baby, and she took all-everything for the baby," Ramos said through tear-filled eyes.
21 News was approached by two people who did not want to be named as we returned to the crime scene and they say they believe her boyfriend was the target. The young woman and man say Hernandez' boyfriend had been feuding with about five men from Rockford Village who they believe came to the apartment complex to retaliate.
"Last night it got really bad, but before last night they met them at the gas station, and there was a conflict there. There was shooting back and forth and everything. Somebody else got hit and I guess they wanted to retaliate for what happened to them," the unnamed source said.
Now a family is crying out for justice for a toddler left to grow up without a mother.
Ramos says he wants justice for his niece, "This violence has to stop. People killing people. This has to stop, man."
Youngstown Police Detectives continue to investigate and are keeping information close to the vest at this point.
No arrests have been made.
21 News has learned police patrols will be increased in the area because of the large amount of gunfire used in the killing.
Also, the Community Initiative to Reduce Violence or CIRV will be notified about the area, and the Homicide Task Force will meet to review what happened in this case.
Stay connected with this developing story on wfmj.com and on the 21 News app.
