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15-Year-Old Shot and Killed in Harlem

By Tuan Nguyen | June 15, 2011 7:34am | Updated on June 15, 2011 9:22pm

By Tuan Nguyen

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

HARLEM — A 15-year-old died after being shot in the torso outside his East Harlem apartment building Tuesday.

Juan Ortero was rushed to Metropolitan Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Police said he was shot at 9:36 p.m. on the corner of East 117th Street and Madison Avenue, just steps from his home at 58 East 117th St.

"He was a good kid,"  his mother, Jessica Montilla, wept on Wednesday morning.

"He loves me and he loves his little sister. He made mistakes just like other kids."

Family friend Juanna Torres, 54, who lives across the street, said, "He's like my son. He comes over to my place all the time whenever he needs something, he calls me Mama Juanna."

A witness said he heard five gun shots last night.

"I saw three guys run down the street," said Carlos Vega, 39.

"(Juan) was a good kid. He took care of his sister, got her to school, picked her up.

"He wasn't one of those kids that was on the street robbing people, selling drugs. That was not him."

No arrests had been made by Wednesday morning.