CENTRAL HARLEM — The NYPD is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the fatal shooting of a 61-year-old former teacher at a playground last weekend.
Odessa Simms was the unintended victim of the shooting, which took place Aug. 20 inside Colonel Charles Young Playground near West 144th Street and Lenox Avenue at about 11:44 p.m., according to NYPD officials and witnesses. Around 70 people were at the park when Simms was shot in the neck, according to police.
Simms, a mother of two, lived nearby on West 142nd Street, and was pronounced dead at Harlem Hospital, police said.
It is unclear why the shooting took place, but witnesses said they saw a man chasing another south toward 143rd Street.
Simms often played dominos in the park with her friends, who said the retired teacher was a giving person. A memorial for Simms was set up near the scene of the shooting, with signs and a candles on a park table.
Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
