The death of 18-year-old Kimberly Olmos, who was found shot in the head inside the Harborview Terrace NYCHA complex early Sunday, has now been ruled a homicide, officials confirmed today.
Kimberly Olmos, who was found dead at Harborview Terrace on Sunday. Photo: Facebook
Earlier this week, both the New York Daily News and W42ST were briefed by officials that the gunshot wound was believed to be self-inflicted. But on Thursday morning, the Office of Chief Medical Examiner confirmed to W42ST that the death had been officially ruled a homicide, following an autopsy that determined Olmos died from a gunshot wound to the head.
Detectives are now investigating whether Olmos was the victim of foul play or an accidental shooting in which someone else discharged the weapon and fled the scene with it. A police source told the Daily News that investigators are working on a theory that Olmos was with a friend in the stairwell when the gun went off.
Olmos was found around 12:45am Sunday in a stairwell of the W56th Street building near 10th Avenue and was taken to Mount Sinai Morningside, where she was pronounced deceased.
Her father, Richard Olmos, spoke to the Daily News in an interview published Wednesday, describing her as a happy teenager looking forward to a planned November 14 vacation. “She was in high school,” he said. “She was really happy about it. She was so happy that she was counting days.” He also expressed concern about some of the people she had been spending time with, saying, “We would tell her not to deal with this kind of people, but she is 18 years old. We cannot do much.”
Olmos lived with her mother in the Morris Heights section of the Bronx. Her parents are from the Dominican Republic, and she was born in New York.
Kimberly Olmos, who was found dead at Harborview Terrace on Sunday. Photo: Facebook
A GoFundMe campaign has been launched by family friends Mya Lise and Brianna Rose on behalf of Olmos’s mother, Ely Javier. The organizers wrote that Kimberly “was genuinely the sweetest girl you could ever meet, talk to and be around… a great friend, great daughter and a beautiful soul.” They said the family is raising funds to give the 18-year-old “a lovely funeral as a last goodbye,” with services scheduled for Sunday, November 9.
Her grandmother, Sharol Olmos, also expressed her grief in a Facebook post, writing: “With deep pain I announce the death of my oldest granddaughter Kimberly… she was only 18 years old in the fullness of life.” She said the family is devastated by the crime, “we live where anyone can have a gun and ruthlessly rip off his life.”
Police are now appealing for witnesses who may have been inside the building or nearby around the time of the shooting.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls are confidential.
W42ST will continue to update this story as new details emerge.