A 69-year-old woman using a walker was fatally shot in East Harlem on Wednesday afternoon, police say.

Loved ones say the victim, Robin Wright, was the community's sweetheart.

"The next thing I know, my friend is laying on the ground, bleeding"

Investigators say at around 12:30 p.m., Wright was walking on East 110th Street and Madison Avenue when shots were fired nearby and a stray bullet struck her in the face.

Wright was with her friend Juanita Arnold at the time.

"I thank you Lord that I'm still here, but my friend is not here, and we were together, side by side," Arnold said.

Arnold said she heard six or seven shots coming from closer to Park Avenue, and the shooting appeared to involve about five individuals.

"We were not even in the presence of these people. All we know is that we saw them running that way, and that was it," Arnold said. "And the next thing you know, the gunshots went off. The next thing I know, my friend is laying on the ground, bleeding from the side of her mouth."

Wright was taken to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

According to a high-ranking police source, shortly before Wright was shot, two men robbed another man nearby. The suspects fled, and the victim followed them, exchanging gunfire. That source said Wright was caught in the crossfire.  

No arrests have been made, and the investigation is ongoing.

East Harlem neighbors worried about safety after deadly shooting

Wright's brother Glenn Williams said his nephew called to tell him about the shooting.

"He just told me his mother just got shot and she didn't make it," Williams said. "I can't even describe what's, you know, on my mind. I can't describe."

Wright lived across the street from where the shooting took place. Now, many of her neighbors are worried about their own safety.

"I am so tired of hearing all this stuff," East Harlem resident Lena Hills said. "People getting killed innocently every day. It's nuts. It's so awful."

"It is really scary. You know, just thinking about walking and seeing something like this. And she's an innocent person walking the street. It doesn't sit well with me," Hills' daughter Debbie Gonsalves said.

"We have to refocus and focus back on getting guns out of our community, more funding to keep young people away from guns," said Dr. Iesha Sekou, CEO and founder of Street Corner Resources.

"I hope they get caught. That's all. I hope they get caught. I hope there's cameras and stuff around there," Wright's brother said.