Inside a Brooklyn hospital, a young girl was being treated for a serious asthma attack; outside, her mother was mercilessly shot dead during a cigarette break.
Shelama Gaskin had just stepped through the doors of Brookdale University Hospital around 3 a.m. when a mystery gunman fired a single bullet into her neck, police said.
A passerby called 911 after he spotted Gaskin lying on the ground behind the hospital with blood spilling from the wound.
“She came outside to smoke a cigarette … and she never made it back upstairs,” said her heartbroken mother, Tanya Gaskin, 50.
“Her baby’s father was up there waiting for her to come back and he didn’t know what happened until the cops called him.”
The killer was still at large Tuesday night.
The shocking murder left Gaskin’s family reeling in grief.
“She didn’t deserve to die,” said Gaskin’s aunt, Lila Evans. “That girl was an angel. She had no enemies.”
Gaskin, who would have turned 33 on Dec. 21, brought her daughter, Saniyah Gaskin-Miley, to the hospital Monday morning when the child began suffering from her asthma.
The child’s father, Mark Miley, arrived later in the day to stay with them in the eighth-floor room.
Shortly before 3 a.m., Gaskin told Miley she was leaving to check on her other daughters — Tamara Gaskin, 18, and 5-year-old Briana — who were at her Kings Highway apartment three blocks away.
Miley stayed at Saniyah’s bedside. Minutes later, he was told by hospital staff that Gaskin had been shot.
“They both had the hospital band on their arm,” Tanya Gaskin said. “That’s how the hospital knew she was in there. Then, the hospital notified the father.”
Shelama Gaskin — who family said left her job with the city’s immigration services office to pursue a sociology degree at Medgar Evers College in Crown Heights — was rushed into the emergency room, but she could not be saved.
Relatives said Gaskin’s youngest children still didn’t know their mother was dead. Family said they don’t understand who would target Gaskin.
“There’s no cameras, no nothing,” Tanya Gaskin said.
“It don’t make no sense,” added Gaskin’s aunt, Mona Lewis. “For my niece to die out here, right by a hospital — and there’s no cameras?”
Police sources said Gaskin had no criminal record.
Cops were called to her house for verbal disputes with Miley about four times since 2006, but no one was ever injured, the sources said.
Detectives brought Miley in for questioning Tuesday, but released him without filing any charges.
Tanya Gaskin insisted that Miley, who split from Gaskin after a 10-year relationship, had nothing to do with her daughter’s murder.
“Mark was more like a shelter,” she said. “Mark goes to church with Shelama on Sundays. . . . They had their little breakup. That was in the past.”
The doting mother was a regular at New Jerusalem Baptist Church in Queens.
She said Gaskin had “other boyfriends” since splitting with Miley, but never disclosed any details on any of the men.
“Mark is hysterical” about the shooting, said Tanya Gaskin, adding he was too distraught to talk to reporters.
“The child laid out here and bled and died,” she said.
She said her daughter, who also struggled to pay her oldest daughter’s tuition at Delaware State University, was born in the same hospital where she died.
“She was in a safe place,” the mother said. “This is a hospital. They’re supposed to help people. People are supposed to come here for help.”
The shocking murder comes as the 67th Precinct, which covers the area in which Gaskin was killed, marked a decline in homicides this year.
There have been 12 murders this year, down from 22 killings over the same period last year, according to police data released Monday.
Shootings in the area have also dropped from 81 incidents in 2011 to 62 this year, the stats show. This year’s shootings left 62 victims, a 23.5% drop from the 81 wounded last year, records show.
Tanya Gaskin said she only hopes to see justice for her daughter’s killer.
“I want the person who shot and killed my daughter caught,” she said. “I want the police to find somebody.”
Inside a Brooklyn hospital, a young girl was being treated for a serious asthma attack; outside, her mother was mercilessly shot dead during a cigarette break.
Shelama Gaskin had just stepped through the doors of Brookdale University Hospital around 3 a.m. when a mystery gunman fired a single bullet into her neck, police said.
A passerby called 911 after he spotted Gaskin lying on the ground behind the hospital with blood spilling from the wound.
“She came outside to smoke a cigarette … and she never made it back upstairs,” said her heartbroken mother, Tanya Gaskin, 50.
“Her baby’s father was up there waiting for her to come back and he didn’t know what happened until the cops called him.”
The killer was still at large Tuesday night.
The shocking murder left Gaskin’s family reeling in grief.
“She didn’t deserve to die,” said Gaskin’s aunt, Lila Evans. “That girl was an angel. She had no enemies.”
Gaskin, who would have turned 33 on Dec. 21, brought her daughter, Saniyah Gaskin-Miley, to the hospital Monday morning when the child began suffering from her asthma.
The child’s father, Mark Miley, arrived later in the day to stay with them in the eighth-floor room.
Shortly before 3 a.m., Gaskin told Miley she was leaving to check on her other daughters — Tamara Gaskin, 18, and 5-year-old Briana — who were at her Kings Highway apartment three blocks away.
Miley stayed at Saniyah’s bedside. Minutes later, he was told by hospital staff that Gaskin had been shot.
“They both had the hospital band on their arm,” Tanya Gaskin said. “That’s how the hospital knew she was in there. Then, the hospital notified the father.”
Shelama Gaskin — who family said left her job with the city’s immigration services office to pursue a sociology degree at Medgar Evers College in Crown Heights — was rushed into the emergency room, but she could not be saved.
Relatives said Gaskin’s youngest children still didn’t know their mother was dead. Family said they don’t understand who would target Gaskin.
“There’s no cameras, no nothing,” Tanya Gaskin said.
“It don’t make no sense,” added Gaskin’s aunt, Mona Lewis. “For my niece to die out here, right by a hospital — and there’s no cameras?”
Police sources said Gaskin had no criminal record.
Cops were called to her house for verbal disputes with Miley about four times since 2006, but no one was ever injured, the sources said.
Detectives brought Miley in for questioning Tuesday, but released him without filing any charges.
Tanya Gaskin insisted that Miley, who split from Gaskin after a 10-year relationship, had nothing to do with her daughter’s murder.
“Mark was more like a shelter,” she said. “Mark goes to church with Shelama on Sundays. . . . They had their little breakup. That was in the past.”
The doting mother was a regular at New Jerusalem Baptist Church in Queens.
She said Gaskin had “other boyfriends” since splitting with Miley, but never disclosed any details on any of the men.
“Mark is hysterical” about the shooting, said Tanya Gaskin, adding he was too distraught to talk to reporters.
“The child laid out here and bled and died,” she said.
She said her daughter, who also struggled to pay her oldest daughter’s tuition at Delaware State University, was born in the same hospital where she died.
“She was in a safe place,” the mother said. “This is a hospital. They’re supposed to help people. People are supposed to come here for help.”
The shocking murder comes as the 67th Precinct, which covers the area in which Gaskin was killed, marked a decline in homicides this year.
There have been 12 murders this year, down from 22 killings over the same period last year, according to police data released Monday.
Shootings in the area have also dropped from 81 incidents in 2011 to 62 this year, the stats show. This year’s shootings left 62 victims, a 23.5% drop from the 81 wounded last year, records show.
Tanya Gaskin said she only hopes to see justice for her daughter’s killer.
“I want the person who shot and killed my daughter caught,” she said. “I want the police to find somebody.”
Inside a Brooklyn hospital, a young girl was being treated for a serious asthma attack; outside, her mother was mercilessly shot dead during a cigarette break.
Shelama Gaskin had just stepped through the doors of Brookdale University Hospital around 3 a.m. when a mystery gunman fired a single bullet into her neck, police said.
A passerby called 911 after he spotted Gaskin lying on the ground behind the hospital with blood spilling from the wound.
“She came outside to smoke a cigarette … and she never made it back upstairs,” said her heartbroken mother, Tanya Gaskin, 50.
“Her baby’s father was up there waiting for her to come back and he didn’t know what happened until the cops called him.”
The killer was still at large Tuesday night.
The shocking murder left Gaskin’s family reeling in grief.
“She didn’t deserve to die,” said Gaskin’s aunt, Lila Evans. “That girl was an angel. She had no enemies.”
Gaskin, who would have turned 33 on Dec. 21, brought her daughter, Saniyah Gaskin-Miley, to the hospital Monday morning when the child began suffering from her asthma.
The child’s father, Mark Miley, arrived later in the day to stay with them in the eighth-floor room.
Shortly before 3 a.m., Gaskin told Miley she was leaving to check on her other daughters — Tamara Gaskin, 18, and 5-year-old Briana — who were at her Kings Highway apartment three blocks away.
Miley stayed at Saniyah’s bedside. Minutes later, he was told by hospital staff that Gaskin had been shot.
“They both had the hospital band on their arm,” Tanya Gaskin said. “That’s how the hospital knew she was in there. Then, the hospital notified the father.”
Shelama Gaskin — who family said left her job with the city’s immigration services office to pursue a sociology degree at Medgar Evers College in Crown Heights — was rushed into the emergency room, but she could not be saved.
Relatives said Gaskin’s youngest children still didn’t know their mother was dead. Family said they don’t understand who would target Gaskin.
“There’s no cameras, no nothing,” Tanya Gaskin said.
“It don’t make no sense,” added Gaskin’s aunt, Mona Lewis. “For my niece to die out here, right by a hospital — and there’s no cameras?”
Police sources said Gaskin had no criminal record.
Cops were called to her house for verbal disputes with Miley about four times since 2006, but no one was ever injured, the sources said.
Detectives brought Miley in for questioning Tuesday, but released him without filing any charges.
Tanya Gaskin insisted that Miley, who split from Gaskin after a 10-year relationship, had nothing to do with her daughter’s murder.
“Mark was more like a shelter,” she said. “Mark goes to church with Shelama on Sundays. . . . They had their little breakup. That was in the past.”
The doting mother was a regular at New Jerusalem Baptist Church in Queens.
She said Gaskin had “other boyfriends” since splitting with Miley, but never disclosed any details on any of the men.
“Mark is hysterical” about the shooting, said Tanya Gaskin, adding he was too distraught to talk to reporters.
“The child laid out here and bled and died,” she said.
She said her daughter, who also struggled to pay her oldest daughter’s tuition at Delaware State University, was born in the same hospital where she died.
“She was in a safe place,” the mother said. “This is a hospital. They’re supposed to help people. People are supposed to come here for help.”
The shocking murder comes as the 67th Precinct, which covers the area in which Gaskin was killed, marked a decline in homicides this year.
There have been 12 murders this year, down from 22 killings over the same period last year, according to police data released Monday.
Shootings in the area have also dropped from 81 incidents in 2011 to 62 this year, the stats show. This year’s shootings left 62 victims, a 23.5% drop from the 81 wounded last year, records show.
Tanya Gaskin said she only hopes to see justice for her daughter’s killer.
“I want the person who shot and killed my daughter caught,” she said. “I want the police to find somebody.”
Inside a Brooklyn hospital, a young girl was being treated for a serious asthma attack; outside, her mother was mercilessly shot dead during a cigarette break.
Shelama Gaskin had just stepped through the doors of Brookdale University Hospital around 3 a.m. when a mystery gunman fired a single bullet into her neck, police said.
A passerby called 911 after he spotted Gaskin lying on the ground behind the hospital with blood spilling from the wound.
“She came outside to smoke a cigarette … and she never made it back upstairs,” said her heartbroken mother, Tanya Gaskin, 50.
“Her baby’s father was up there waiting for her to come back and he didn’t know what happened until the cops called him.”
The killer was still at large Tuesday night.
The shocking murder left Gaskin’s family reeling in grief.
“She didn’t deserve to die,” said Gaskin’s aunt, Lila Evans. “That girl was an angel. She had no enemies.”
Gaskin, who would have turned 33 on Dec. 21, brought her daughter, Saniyah Gaskin-Miley, to the hospital Monday morning when the child began suffering from her asthma.
The child’s father, Mark Miley, arrived later in the day to stay with them in the eighth-floor room.
Shortly before 3 a.m., Gaskin told Miley she was leaving to check on her other daughters — Tamara Gaskin, 18, and 5-year-old Briana — who were at her Kings Highway apartment three blocks away.
Miley stayed at Saniyah’s bedside. Minutes later, he was told by hospital staff that Gaskin had been shot.
“They both had the hospital band on their arm,” Tanya Gaskin said. “That’s how the hospital knew she was in there. Then, the hospital notified the father.”
Shelama Gaskin — who family said left her job with the city’s immigration services office to pursue a sociology degree at Medgar Evers College in Crown Heights — was rushed into the emergency room, but she could not be saved.
Relatives said Gaskin’s youngest children still didn’t know their mother was dead. Family said they don’t understand who would target Gaskin.
“There’s no cameras, no nothing,” Tanya Gaskin said.
“It don’t make no sense,” added Gaskin’s aunt, Mona Lewis. “For my niece to die out here, right by a hospital — and there’s no cameras?”
Police sources said Gaskin had no criminal record.
Cops were called to her house for verbal disputes with Miley about four times since 2006, but no one was ever injured, the sources said.
Detectives brought Miley in for questioning Tuesday, but released him without filing any charges.
Tanya Gaskin insisted that Miley, who split from Gaskin after a 10-year relationship, had nothing to do with her daughter’s murder.
“Mark was more like a shelter,” she said. “Mark goes to church with Shelama on Sundays. . . . They had their little breakup. That was in the past.”
The doting mother was a regular at New Jerusalem Baptist Church in Queens.
She said Gaskin had “other boyfriends” since splitting with Miley, but never disclosed any details on any of the men.
“Mark is hysterical” about the shooting, said Tanya Gaskin, adding he was too distraught to talk to reporters.
“The child laid out here and bled and died,” she said.
She said her daughter, who also struggled to pay her oldest daughter’s tuition at Delaware State University, was born in the same hospital where she died.
“She was in a safe place,” the mother said. “This is a hospital. They’re supposed to help people. People are supposed to come here for help.”
The shocking murder comes as the 67th Precinct, which covers the area in which Gaskin was killed, marked a decline in homicides this year.
There have been 12 murders this year, down from 22 killings over the same period last year, according to police data released Monday.
Shootings in the area have also dropped from 81 incidents in 2011 to 62 this year, the stats show. This year’s shootings left 62 victims, a 23.5% drop from the 81 wounded last year, records show.
Tanya Gaskin said she only hopes to see justice for her daughter’s killer.
“I want the person who shot and killed my daughter caught,” she said. “I want the police to find somebody.”
Inside a Brooklyn hospital, a young girl was being treated for a serious asthma attack; outside, her mother was mercilessly shot dead during a cigarette break.
Shelama Gaskin had just stepped through the doors of Brookdale University Hospital around 3 a.m. when a mystery gunman fired a single bullet into her neck, police said.
A passerby called 911 after he spotted Gaskin lying on the ground behind the hospital with blood spilling from the wound.
“She came outside to smoke a cigarette … and she never made it back upstairs,” said her heartbroken mother, Tanya Gaskin, 50.
“Her baby’s father was up there waiting for her to come back and he didn’t know what happened until the cops called him.”
The killer was still at large Tuesday night.
The shocking murder left Gaskin’s family reeling in grief.
“She didn’t deserve to die,” said Gaskin’s aunt, Lila Evans. “That girl was an angel. She had no enemies.”
Gaskin, who would have turned 33 on Dec. 21, brought her daughter, Saniyah Gaskin-Miley, to the hospital Monday morning when the child began suffering from her asthma.
The child’s father, Mark Miley, arrived later in the day to stay with them in the eighth-floor room.
Shortly before 3 a.m., Gaskin told Miley she was leaving to check on her other daughters — Tamara Gaskin, 18, and 5-year-old Briana — who were at her Kings Highway apartment three blocks away.
Miley stayed at Saniyah’s bedside. Minutes later, he was told by hospital staff that Gaskin had been shot.
“They both had the hospital band on their arm,” Tanya Gaskin said. “That’s how the hospital knew she was in there. Then, the hospital notified the father.”
Shelama Gaskin — who family said left her job with the city’s immigration services office to pursue a sociology degree at Medgar Evers College in Crown Heights — was rushed into the emergency room, but she could not be saved.
Relatives said Gaskin’s youngest children still didn’t know their mother was dead. Family said they don’t understand who would target Gaskin.
“There’s no cameras, no nothing,” Tanya Gaskin said.
“It don’t make no sense,” added Gaskin’s aunt, Mona Lewis. “For my niece to die out here, right by a hospital — and there’s no cameras?”
Police sources said Gaskin had no criminal record.
Cops were called to her house for verbal disputes with Miley about four times since 2006, but no one was ever injured, the sources said.
Detectives brought Miley in for questioning Tuesday, but released him without filing any charges.
Tanya Gaskin insisted that Miley, who split from Gaskin after a 10-year relationship, had nothing to do with her daughter’s murder.
“Mark was more like a shelter,” she said. “Mark goes to church with Shelama on Sundays. . . . They had their little breakup. That was in the past.”
The doting mother was a regular at New Jerusalem Baptist Church in Queens.
She said Gaskin had “other boyfriends” since splitting with Miley, but never disclosed any details on any of the men.
“Mark is hysterical” about the shooting, said Tanya Gaskin, adding he was too distraught to talk to reporters.
“The child laid out here and bled and died,” she said.
She said her daughter, who also struggled to pay her oldest daughter’s tuition at Delaware State University, was born in the same hospital where she died.
“She was in a safe place,” the mother said. “This is a hospital. They’re supposed to help people. People are supposed to come here for help.”
The shocking murder comes as the 67th Precinct, which covers the area in which Gaskin was killed, marked a decline in homicides this year.
There have been 12 murders this year, down from 22 killings over the same period last year, according to police data released Monday.
Shootings in the area have also dropped from 81 incidents in 2011 to 62 this year, the stats show. This year’s shootings left 62 victims, a 23.5% drop from the 81 wounded last year, records show.
Tanya Gaskin said she only hopes to see justice for her daughter’s killer.
“I want the person who shot and killed my daughter caught,” she said. “I want the police to find somebody.”
Inside a Brooklyn hospital, a young girl was being treated for a serious asthma attack; outside, her mother was mercilessly shot dead during a cigarette break.
Shelama Gaskin had just stepped through the doors of Brookdale University Hospital around 3 a.m. when a mystery gunman fired a single bullet into her neck, police said.
A passerby called 911 after he spotted Gaskin lying on the ground behind the hospital with blood spilling from the wound.
“She came outside to smoke a cigarette … and she never made it back upstairs,” said her heartbroken mother, Tanya Gaskin, 50.
“Her baby’s father was up there waiting for her to come back and he didn’t know what happened until the cops called him.”
The killer was still at large Tuesday night.
The shocking murder left Gaskin’s family reeling in grief.
“She didn’t deserve to die,” said Gaskin’s aunt, Lila Evans. “That girl was an angel. She had no enemies.”
Gaskin, who would have turned 33 on Dec. 21, brought her daughter, Saniyah Gaskin-Miley, to the hospital Monday morning when the child began suffering from her asthma.
The child’s father, Mark Miley, arrived later in the day to stay with them in the eighth-floor room.
Shortly before 3 a.m., Gaskin told Miley she was leaving to check on her other daughters — Tamara Gaskin, 18, and 5-year-old Briana — who were at her Kings Highway apartment three blocks away.
Miley stayed at Saniyah’s bedside. Minutes later, he was told by hospital staff that Gaskin had been shot.
“They both had the hospital band on their arm,” Tanya Gaskin said. “That’s how the hospital knew she was in there. Then, the hospital notified the father.”
Shelama Gaskin — who family said left her job with the city’s immigration services office to pursue a sociology degree at Medgar Evers College in Crown Heights — was rushed into the emergency room, but she could not be saved.
Relatives said Gaskin’s youngest children still didn’t know their mother was dead. Family said they don’t understand who would target Gaskin.
“There’s no cameras, no nothing,” Tanya Gaskin said.
“It don’t make no sense,” added Gaskin’s aunt, Mona Lewis. “For my niece to die out here, right by a hospital — and there’s no cameras?”
Police sources said Gaskin had no criminal record.
Cops were called to her house for verbal disputes with Miley about four times since 2006, but no one was ever injured, the sources said.
Detectives brought Miley in for questioning Tuesday, but released him without filing any charges.
Tanya Gaskin insisted that Miley, who split from Gaskin after a 10-year relationship, had nothing to do with her daughter’s murder.
“Mark was more like a shelter,” she said. “Mark goes to church with Shelama on Sundays. . . . They had their little breakup. That was in the past.”
The doting mother was a regular at New Jerusalem Baptist Church in Queens.
She said Gaskin had “other boyfriends” since splitting with Miley, but never disclosed any details on any of the men.
“Mark is hysterical” about the shooting, said Tanya Gaskin, adding he was too distraught to talk to reporters.
“The child laid out here and bled and died,” she said.
She said her daughter, who also struggled to pay her oldest daughter’s tuition at Delaware State University, was born in the same hospital where she died.
“She was in a safe place,” the mother said. “This is a hospital. They’re supposed to help people. People are supposed to come here for help.”
The shocking murder comes as the 67th Precinct, which covers the area in which Gaskin was killed, marked a decline in homicides this year.
There have been 12 murders this year, down from 22 killings over the same period last year, according to police data released Monday.
Shootings in the area have also dropped from 81 incidents in 2011 to 62 this year, the stats show. This year’s shootings left 62 victims, a 23.5% drop from the 81 wounded last year, records show.
Tanya Gaskin said she only hopes to see justice for her daughter’s killer.
“I want the person who shot and killed my daughter caught,” she said. “I want the police to find somebody.”
Inside a Brooklyn hospital, a young girl was being treated for a serious asthma attack; outside, her mother was mercilessly shot dead during a cigarette break.
Shelama Gaskin had just stepped through the doors of Brookdale University Hospital around 3 a.m. when a mystery gunman fired a single bullet into her neck, police said.
A passerby called 911 after he spotted Gaskin lying on the ground behind the hospital with blood spilling from the wound.
“She came outside to smoke a cigarette … and she never made it back upstairs,” said her heartbroken mother, Tanya Gaskin, 50.
“Her baby’s father was up there waiting for her to come back and he didn’t know what happened until the cops called him.”
The killer was still at large Tuesday night.
The shocking murder left Gaskin’s family reeling in grief.
“She didn’t deserve to die,” said Gaskin’s aunt, Lila Evans. “That girl was an angel. She had no enemies.”
Gaskin, who would have turned 33 on Dec. 21, brought her daughter, Saniyah Gaskin-Miley, to the hospital Monday morning when the child began suffering from her asthma.
The child’s father, Mark Miley, arrived later in the day to stay with them in the eighth-floor room.
Shortly before 3 a.m., Gaskin told Miley she was leaving to check on her other daughters — Tamara Gaskin, 18, and 5-year-old Briana — who were at her Kings Highway apartment three blocks away.
Miley stayed at Saniyah’s bedside. Minutes later, he was told by hospital staff that Gaskin had been shot.
“They both had the hospital band on their arm,” Tanya Gaskin said. “That’s how the hospital knew she was in there. Then, the hospital notified the father.”
Shelama Gaskin — who family said left her job with the city’s immigration services office to pursue a sociology degree at Medgar Evers College in Crown Heights — was rushed into the emergency room, but she could not be saved.
Relatives said Gaskin’s youngest children still didn’t know their mother was dead. Family said they don’t understand who would target Gaskin.
“There’s no cameras, no nothing,” Tanya Gaskin said.
“It don’t make no sense,” added Gaskin’s aunt, Mona Lewis. “For my niece to die out here, right by a hospital — and there’s no cameras?”
Police sources said Gaskin had no criminal record.
Cops were called to her house for verbal disputes with Miley about four times since 2006, but no one was ever injured, the sources said.
Detectives brought Miley in for questioning Tuesday, but released him without filing any charges.
Tanya Gaskin insisted that Miley, who split from Gaskin after a 10-year relationship, had nothing to do with her daughter’s murder.
“Mark was more like a shelter,” she said. “Mark goes to church with Shelama on Sundays. . . . They had their little breakup. That was in the past.”
The doting mother was a regular at New Jerusalem Baptist Church in Queens.
She said Gaskin had “other boyfriends” since splitting with Miley, but never disclosed any details on any of the men.
“Mark is hysterical” about the shooting, said Tanya Gaskin, adding he was too distraught to talk to reporters.
“The child laid out here and bled and died,” she said.
She said her daughter, who also struggled to pay her oldest daughter’s tuition at Delaware State University, was born in the same hospital where she died.
“She was in a safe place,” the mother said. “This is a hospital. They’re supposed to help people. People are supposed to come here for help.”
The shocking murder comes as the 67th Precinct, which covers the area in which Gaskin was killed, marked a decline in homicides this year.
There have been 12 murders this year, down from 22 killings over the same period last year, according to police data released Monday.
Shootings in the area have also dropped from 81 incidents in 2011 to 62 this year, the stats show. This year’s shootings left 62 victims, a 23.5% drop from the 81 wounded last year, records show.
Tanya Gaskin said she only hopes to see justice for her daughter’s killer.
“I want the person who shot and killed my daughter caught,” she said. “I want the police to find somebody.”
Inside a Brooklyn hospital, a young girl was being treated for a serious asthma attack; outside, her mother was mercilessly shot dead during a cigarette break.
Shelama Gaskin had just stepped through the doors of Brookdale University Hospital around 3 a.m. when a mystery gunman fired a single bullet into her neck, police said.
A passerby called 911 after he spotted Gaskin lying on the ground behind the hospital with blood spilling from the wound.
“She came outside to smoke a cigarette … and she never made it back upstairs,” said her heartbroken mother, Tanya Gaskin, 50.
“Her baby’s father was up there waiting for her to come back and he didn’t know what happened until the cops called him.”
The killer was still at large Tuesday night.
The shocking murder left Gaskin’s family reeling in grief.
“She didn’t deserve to die,” said Gaskin’s aunt, Lila Evans. “That girl was an angel. She had no enemies.”
Gaskin, who would have turned 33 on Dec. 21, brought her daughter, Saniyah Gaskin-Miley, to the hospital Monday morning when the child began suffering from her asthma.
The child’s father, Mark Miley, arrived later in the day to stay with them in the eighth-floor room.
Shortly before 3 a.m., Gaskin told Miley she was leaving to check on her other daughters — Tamara Gaskin, 18, and 5-year-old Briana — who were at her Kings Highway apartment three blocks away.
Miley stayed at Saniyah’s bedside. Minutes later, he was told by hospital staff that Gaskin had been shot.
“They both had the hospital band on their arm,” Tanya Gaskin said. “That’s how the hospital knew she was in there. Then, the hospital notified the father.”
Shelama Gaskin — who family said left her job with the city’s immigration services office to pursue a sociology degree at Medgar Evers College in Crown Heights — was rushed into the emergency room, but she could not be saved.
Relatives said Gaskin’s youngest children still didn’t know their mother was dead. Family said they don’t understand who would target Gaskin.
“There’s no cameras, no nothing,” Tanya Gaskin said.
“It don’t make no sense,” added Gaskin’s aunt, Mona Lewis. “For my niece to die out here, right by a hospital — and there’s no cameras?”
Police sources said Gaskin had no criminal record.
Cops were called to her house for verbal disputes with Miley about four times since 2006, but no one was ever injured, the sources said.
Detectives brought Miley in for questioning Tuesday, but released him without filing any charges.
Tanya Gaskin insisted that Miley, who split from Gaskin after a 10-year relationship, had nothing to do with her daughter’s murder.
“Mark was more like a shelter,” she said. “Mark goes to church with Shelama on Sundays. . . . They had their little breakup. That was in the past.”
The doting mother was a regular at New Jerusalem Baptist Church in Queens.
She said Gaskin had “other boyfriends” since splitting with Miley, but never disclosed any details on any of the men.
“Mark is hysterical” about the shooting, said Tanya Gaskin, adding he was too distraught to talk to reporters.
“The child laid out here and bled and died,” she said.
She said her daughter, who also struggled to pay her oldest daughter’s tuition at Delaware State University, was born in the same hospital where she died.
“She was in a safe place,” the mother said. “This is a hospital. They’re supposed to help people. People are supposed to come here for help.”
The shocking murder comes as the 67th Precinct, which covers the area in which Gaskin was killed, marked a decline in homicides this year.
There have been 12 murders this year, down from 22 killings over the same period last year, according to police data released Monday.
Shootings in the area have also dropped from 81 incidents in 2011 to 62 this year, the stats show. This year’s shootings left 62 victims, a 23.5% drop from the 81 wounded last year, records show.
Tanya Gaskin said she only hopes to see justice for her daughter’s killer.
“I want the person who shot and killed my daughter caught,” she said. “I want the police to find somebody.”