Mother of slain NYC Burger King cashier begs Biden to help fix city's crime crisis
Kristal Bayron-Nieves, 19, was allegedly gunned down by a homeless man during a robbery
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}FIRST ON FOX: The shattered mother of a 19-year-old woman killed during a gunpoint robbery at a New York City Burger King last month urged President Biden to help crack down on crime on the eve of his visit to the embattled city.
"I want to tell the president that this is what happened to my daughter and this should not happen to any other child," Kristie Nieves, 36, told Fox News Digital through a Spanish interpreter at her civil attorney Sanford Rubenstein's office. "We need to get the guns off the streets so no one goes through this."
Civil attorney Sanford Rubenstein with Kristie Nieves, the mother of 19-year-old Kristal Bayron-Nieves, who was shot to death Jan. 9 while working at Burger King (Rebecca Rosenberg)
Nieves’ daughter, Kristal Bayron-Nieves, was shot in the stomach Jan. 9 for $100 by a homeless former employee while working a late night shift at the fast-food chain.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}TEEN BURGER KING CASHIER SHOT AND KILLED DURING ROBBERY IN MANHATTAN
The anguished mother’s lawyer said that he had been told that, that Burger King location hired staffers from the same homeless shelter where the alleged shooter lived.
"I’m contemplating filing a lawsuit not only against Burger King but also against the manufacturer of the gun that killed this beautiful girl," Rubenstein said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Kristal Bayron-Nieves, 19, was shot to death Jan. 9 during a robbery while working at Burger King. (Courtesy of Kristie Nieves)
Nieves, who moved from Puerto Rico to New York after Hurricane Maria, said the city has become dangerous. "We need to change a lot of laws, we need more police and there is so much crime," she said. "We need to do whatever it takes get the guns off the streets."
SURVEILLANCE VIDEO CAPTURES SUSPECT IN NYC BURGER KING SHOOTING
The grieving mother spoke to Fox News Digital two days before the president is set to tour the Big Apple and meet with the city’s new mayor, Eric Adams, about the surge in gun violence.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Shootings are up nearly 46% in the last 28 days compared to the same period last year, according to public records. Many other categories of serious crimes have also spiked, including rape, grand larceny and robbery.
Kristal Bayron-Nieves, 19, was shot to death during a robbery while working at Burger King Jan. 9. (Courtesy of Kristie Nieves)
Five New York City cops have been shot this year — two of whom died.
The mother was particularly offended by a recent comment made by White House press secretary Jen Psaki who shrugged off media coverage of rising crime as "an alternate universe."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I know there is a crime problem in the city because my daughter was murdered," said Nieves, who expressed compassion for the mother of an 11-month-old girl struck in the face last month by a stray bullet.
(NYPD)
"I know how she feels because I’m going through it," she said, dissolving into tears. "This has to stop."
Rubenstein had some harsh words for the press secretary. "Ms. Psaki, take your head out of the sand," he said. "Crime, particularly crimes that involve guns, are a serious problem in this city today and must be addressed."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A Polaroid of Kristal Bayron-Nieves with her little brother, Christian Nieves. A second Polaroid snap shows Kristie Nieves with her daughter, Kristal Bayron-Nieves. (Courtesy of Kristie Nieves)
Bayron-Nieves, an aspiring model, who had only been employed at the franchise for three weeks, wasn’t supposed to work that Saturday, her mother said. "She didn’t feel right but her manager told her to come in," recalled Nieves, as tears streamed down her face.
Toward the end of her shift at about 12:30 a.m. Sunday, Winston Glynn, 30, walked into the fast-food restaurant brandishing a gun. He allegedly pistol-whipped the store’s manager and a customer before demanding that Bayron-Nieves open the register. He stole about $100 before callously shooting her.
Winston Glynn has been arrested in connection to the slaying of a Burger King worker Kristal Bayron-Nieves. (NYPD | Fox Nation's "Crime Stories with Nancy Grace")
Glynn, who had never met Bayron-Nieves, lived at a homeless shelter, authorities said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The slain teen was afraid to work the late shift because of the number of homeless people at the location and the lack of security, her mom said.
Kristal Bayron-Nieves (Courtesy of Kristie Nieves)
Bayron-Nieves's 14-year-old brother, Christian, is devastated. "When she wasn’t working she was always home with her little brother,"Nieves said. The family was extremely close, and the loss has been almost impossible to endure, she said.
"This is a nightmare that I never thought I’d have to live with, and I never thought it would happen here in America," Nieves told Fox News Digital.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Rubenstein and Nieves are holding a press conference Wednesday afternoon to demand that the president and the mayor come up with a plan to stop the soaring gun violence in which innocent victims are often the collateral damage.
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Glynn, who faces first-degree murder, first-degree robbery and other charges, is due in Manhattan Supreme Court Feb. 14. A spokesman for Burger King didn’t immediately return a request for comment.