17-Year-Old Brooklyn Basketball Star Fatally Struck by Stray Bullet in Front of Sister

A family is mourning the loss of 17-year-old Shayma Roman, a high school basketball player killed by a stray bullet in Brooklyn on Wednesday.

Police say a group was standing outside a building at 1225 Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights on Wednesday night when two men walked up and started firing shots, CBS News reports. Roman’s older brother, Shakem, is still in shock after realizing he saw his sister for the last time minutes before the deadly shooting in front of their grandmother’s building.

The brother revealed that his older sister, 19, was present and saw Roman take her last breaths.

“My older sister, Tayma, was sitting outside. Shayma went outside to go talk to Tayma…and, that’s when it happened. She saw it happen,” he said.

Roman’s stepfather said the family was completely heartbroken and blindsided by the attack. They have no clue who would do this to the young basketball star.

“Ask God for strength. That’s all we can do right now,” he said.

The shooting happened just after 6 p.m., ABC 7 NY reports. The group was standing outside the building like they normally do, witnesses say, when two suspects came up and fired rounds.

After being shot in the face, Roman was taken to Brookdale Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

“It was a gruesome scene, a body with blood,” one resident said. “Her sister was holding her. It was just a tragic scene.”

No one else was reported injured. The suspects allegedly fled the scene on a single scooter, and remain on the loose.

Police believe the shooting was gang-related and someone Roman was with was the target. Authorities note that Roman has no criminal record.

Now the family is worried about Roman’s sister following the traumatic experience.

“She saw it happen… she was right there,” the older brother told the NY Post.

“I don’t know how my sister is going to take this. She’s over by grandmother’s or over by the friends. She can’t come home. She can’t come back home, they shared a room, she can’t,” Shakem said.

A male eyewitness recalled Tayma Roman clutching her sister’s hand and crying as she waited for an ambulance to arrive.

“[She] was holding her, saying, ‘Shy! Shy!'” the neighbor said.

Shakem revealed that Roman was killed just ahead of her 18th birthday on October 30.

“She was the youngest. That’s my baby sister,” he said.

Police have identified two suspects from surveillance footage, but no arrests have been made.