Mom of innocent teen shot and wounded outside Stonewall Inn just happy her daughter's alive: ‘Prefer this to picking out caskets'
The New Jersey mom said her heart dropped when she got a call from an NYPD officer telling her that her 17-year-old, Anastasia Cipriano, had been shot in the legs by a stray bullet fired by another teenage girl near the landmarked LGBTQ bar.
'As a parent, that's the call you never, ever want to get. It's terrible,' Star Lopez, 46, told The Post Monday. 'You don't think it's going to happen to you. When it does, it's very scary.'
3 An innocent 17-year-old bystander was caught in the crossfire of a wild melee outside Stonewall Inn Sunday night.
Kyle Mazza/NurPhoto/Shutterstock
Lopez's daughter was an innocent bystander who got caught in crossfire of a feud between two groups of trigger-happy teens in Sheridan Square, just around the corner from The Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village.
The violence erupted around 10:15 p.m. — hours after the Village hosted the city's annual Pride parade — when a 16-year-old girl opened fire on a male youth in an opposing group, police said.
'This female then produces a 9 millimeter pistol, places it inches away from that male's head, and pulls the trigger two times,' NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told reporters Monday.
The shots missed the intended target, but one of the bullets struck Anastasia, who was visiting the city for Pride from Bayonne, NJ with a friend.
'It's disgusting. She was a good kid trying to do a nice thing. Celebrating Pride. Having a lovely time. And then this. It makes me sick,' the girl's mother said.
Her daughter, who wants to be a doctor when she grows up, was at the wrong place at the wrong time, cops confirmed.
'She had no connection to the shooter, and she had no connection to the previous fight that was taking place,' Kenny said.
The 17-year-old was getting ready to head home when the shots rang out — wounding her and the 16-year-old girl accused of firing the first bullets.
'Anastasia told me the gunshots sounded… incredibly loud. She said they felt like they were coming right behind her,' the mom said.
The bullet traveled through the teen's left thigh and lodged in her right thigh, according to the police chief.
3 A 16-year-old remains in critical condition after being 'gravely' injured during a shootout outside the Stonewall Inn Sunday night, police said.
Diego Luzuriaga/FNTV
Cops rushed the high schooler to the Lenox Hospital, believing she was injured in the chaos following the shooting — before realizing her injuries were gunshot wounds, according to the frightened mom.
She was then transported to Bellevue Hospital, where she underwent emergency surgery. She was still at the hospital on Monday recovering.
'The surgery went well, thank God,' a palpably relieved Lopez said. 'We got lucky this time. We really did. I know there won't be a next time, but we got really lucky this time.'
The mom said she is emotionally exhausted after the roller coaster she's been through but noted it's better than the grim alternative.
'I prefer this to organizing a wake and picking out caskets,' she said.
3 The innocent bystander who was shot Sunday night wants to be a doctor, her mother said.
William Miller
She said she hopes to have Anastasia, who'll be a senior in the fall, back home soon.
Lopez, a certified medical assistant, also offered her prayers to the other girl — her daughter's alleged shooter — who was less lucky.
The 16-year-old was mistakenly shot in the head by a male pal in her same group during the violent teenage melee. The male suspect, who remains at large, pulled out a gun and opened fire at the opposing crew of teens after she fired the first shots — but also missed and instead shot his friend.
The teen was shot once in the head and remains hospitalized in critical condition.
'My heart goes out to that family. I am praying for them,' Lopez said, her voice cracking with emotion.
The random shooting rattled the Garden State mom. She said she now fears that dangers lurk everywhere.
'We're not safe. We're not safe — none of us. Are we?' she said.
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