Cops seek ex-boyfriend in shooting of teen

Shamika Miller, an 18-year-old York College freshman and aspiring novelist, had her life cut short when she allegedly was shot in the face by a jilted boyfriend.
The shooting, which occurred in the stairwell of Miller’s apartment building at 33-24 77th Street in Jackson Heights on Sunday, April 15, followed several days of stalking, arguing and begging by the unidentified 20-year-old ex-boyfriend, according to published reports.
Police say the former boyfriend is a “person of interest” and they want to question him. Miller’s cousin Terry Ann Hendricks, 30, who also lives in the same building, characterized the alleged killer as a “bad guy.”
It has been reported that the pair had argued in front of the building just days before the murder. A neighbor who asked not to be identified said that Miller told the man, “I don’t need this.”
The boyfriend reportedly went to a local supermarket where Miller worked on the day of the shooting, but was turned away. Later, he arrived outside Miller’s home and was confronted by the victim’s 14 year-old sister who told him, “It’s over.” Another cousin of the victim, Kathy Turner, said in published reports that “He begged her. He said he ‘just needs a minute.’ ”
The pair conversed quietly for over an hour, when, according to reports, the family heard a gunshot. “It sounded like an explosion” Hendricks is reported to have said, “then I heard screaming.”
Published accounts say that the victim’s bleeding body was first found by her 13-year-old brother.
Miller was the oldest of five children and was reportedly “very close” with her siblings, according to Hendricks. “She loved reading and writing. She was working on a series of romance novels,” Hendricks was reported to say, continuing, “She was very kind to others, one of those people who never lost their cool.”