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92-Year-Old Woman Shot in East New York

By  Jesse Lent Tom Liddy and Julie  Shapiro | January 9, 2013 5:48pm | Updated on January 9, 2013 8:44pm

BROOKLYN — An elderly woman was shot in East New York Wednesday as she headed to her local laundromat, officials and witnesses said.

Gloria Johnson, 92, was hit once in the arm about 4:45 p.m. at Blake and Miller avenues, cops and relatives said.

She was rushed to Brookdale Hospital in serious condition, but her injuries were not life-threatening, sources said.

"She was going to the laundromat and the guy...shot her," said Alvin Johnson, the victim's son, who had just returned from visiting his mother in the hospital. "She's stable. She's sleeping now. At least it's not worse — I'm glad."

Police said Johnson was not the target of the shooting. No one had been arrested as of Wednesday night, and police said the investigation was ongoing.

Staf Ali, who works at Family Deli on Miller Avenue, said he heard four gunshots, then raced outside.

"The lady was down on the ground," Ali said. "I thought she was hiding from the bullets. When we picked her up off the ground she was bleeding from her arm. That's what made us sad and mad about it because she's old and she didn't have anything to do with nothing."

Ali said the victim was a "nice lady" who frequented the deli to buy coffee and cake.

"Everybody knows her," he said. "Everybody respects her."

Mike Bernard, 63, who owns M & M Laundromat on Blake Avenue, said Johnson, who walks with a cane, was bringing a cart of laundry over when she was shot.

"I heard two shots, pop, pop, and I saw a cart out there and her leaning against a building, bleeding from her arm, and I thought, 'Who could it be?'" Bernard said. "You don't want that to happen to anyone."

The motive for the shooting was not immediately clear.