A young woman shot in the head inside a NYCHA complex in Hell’s Kitchen died from a self-inflicted wound — and investigators are now trying to determine if she committed suicide or accidentally shot herself, police said Tuesday.
The victim was shot inside a stairwell at NYCHA’s Harborview Terrace complex on W. 56th St. near Tenth Ave. about 12:45 a.m. Sunday, cops said.
Cops were initially unsure of her identity but have now identified her as an 18 year old whose name they have not yet released.
Medics rushed the victim to Mount Sinai West but she could not be saved.
Cops later determined the woman’s gunshot wound was self inflicted — but it is still not clear if the woman committed suicide or accidentally shot herself, cops said.
The city Medical Examiner is conducting an autopsy to determine her cause and manner of death.
Tenants said the victim was heading down the stairs in the NYCHA building when she was shot.
“It started from the second floor coming down, so like three of the steps are littered with blood,” said a man cleaning up the crime scene Sunday. “It’s pretty bloody in there.”
On Sunday night, the building stairwell was still splattered with blood, including a large pool on the second floor landing where the woman was shot.
