A 23-year-old Bronx mother died shielding her 8-month-old daughter after the pair were pushed from a 15th-floor balcony early Tuesday, and police are hunting a wanted man.

Fox News reported that officers responded to a 911 call around 3:38 a.m. Tuesday outside 2550 Olinville Ave. and found Nathaly Ramirez and her baby with injuries consistent with a fall from height.

Further investigation led the New York City Police Department to conclude the mother and child had been pushed. Ramirez was pronounced dead. Her daughter remains in critical condition at a hospital.

NYPD detectives identified Angel Carrasco, 31, as wanted in connection with the incident and released his image Wednesday. No arrests have been made. The investigation remains open.

The department told reporters the pair were discovered with injuries indicating a fall from an elevated position. Officials later stated the facts more directly.

"Further investigation determined that both individuals had been pushed from a balcony,"

the NYPD said.

Investigators believe she held her baby all the way down

FOX 5 NY reported the fall came from a 15th-floor balcony. ABC7 NY reported that investigators believe Ramirez tightly embraced her daughter during the plunge, cushioning the infant.

Neighbors said they heard the young mother scream in the moments before the fall. One cry stood out.

"Please don’t do this!"

neighbors recalled hearing, according to FOX 5.

Cases of sudden violence against families continue to surface in other cities as well, including a strip-mall shooting that left two dead and many detained near a California campus.

Sources told FOX 5 the episode was a suspected domestic violence incident and that Carrasco was Ramirez’s boyfriend or recent ex-boyfriend. The NYPD statement did not specify any relationship and announced no charges.

Neighbors flagged trouble long before Tuesday

A neighbor identified only as Mike described an earlier confrontation at the same apartment. In January, he said, a man tried to force his way inside.

"He was kicking the door down trying to get into the apartment,"

Mike told ABC7.

An unnamed woman who lives two doors down said she had heard yelling from the unit on numerous occasions. Sources told FOX 5 that police had been called to the apartment multiple times and that the couple had a history of domestic violence.

Those prior warnings did not prevent the early-morning fall that killed Ramirez and left her baby fighting for life. Similar patterns of preventable harm have appeared in other recent crime cases, including the Bronx shooting of a 12-year-old whose father is a retired NYPD sergeant.

Carrasco still sought as tips pour in

Detectives publicly named Carrasco on Wednesday and asked for help locating him. Crime Stoppers is taking tips at 1-800-577-TIPS or through the NYPD Crime Stoppers website. No charges were listed in the department’s statement. No one is in custody.

The baby, whose name has not been released, was rushed from the scene in critical condition. Ramirez, 23, was transported and later pronounced dead.

Violence that leaves children wounded and parents dead has also driven other recent manhunts and charging decisions, as when a Texas reserve officer was charged after killings tied to a custody dispute.

The core facts remain stark. A mother and her 8-month-old were pushed from a 15th-floor Bronx balcony. The mother died. The child is critical. A 31-year-old man is wanted. Neighbors describe prior yelling, prior police calls, and a January attempt to kick in the door. The NYPD says the investigation is ongoing and no arrests have been made.

Other jurisdictions have faced their own stretches of street violence and rapid police response, including a Macon park shootout that wounded a dozen teens.

When a mother dies wrapping her body around her baby on the way down 15 stories, the least a city owes them is a swift arrest and a full accounting.