By Rocco Parascandola, Andrew Califf, Colin Mixson, Police Bureau Chief for the New York Daily News on May 22, 2023 at 1:38 pm
A 13-year-old boy shot in the head while playing basketball at a Staten Island playground is brain-dead, the Daily News has learned.
The victim was shooting hoops at the Rev. Dr. Maggie Howard Playground when shots rang out at 3:55 p.m. on Friday. He fled for his life as the shooter fired three times, including the bullet that struck the teen in the head, cops said.
Medics rushed the teen to Richmond University Medical Center in critical condition, where specialists have diagnosed him as brain-dead, according to police sources.
The victim, a resident of South Beach Houses, is enrolled as an eighth-grader at the Eagle Academy for Young Men. The Clifton middle school is located within the IS49 campus, near the playground, where students commonly hang out after the closing bell, according to area residents.
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Police believe the shooting was premeditated and are currently investigating a suspect, although no arrests have been made, a law enforcement source said.
A witness claimed that there was not one, but two gunmen, who appeared from a nearby apartment building wearing ski masks before opening fire on the teenage victim.
“We were playing basketball and then one minute they started shooting, and we all ran,” said the witness, a 14-year-old student at IS49. “I saw [the victim] get hit in the head.”
Friends of the wounded teen described him as well-liked, friendly and an avid basketball player.
“He was a good kid,” said one youth. “He didn’t deserve that.”
Following the shooting, worried parents of Eagle Academy students were spotted swarming the courtyard outside the Stapleton Houses, located adjacent to the playground where the grisly shooting occurred.
“They didn’t know who was shot,” said Cindy Perez, whose apartment overlooks the courtyard. “They wanted to know if it was their son.”
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Residents of the Stapleton Houses, where a 14-year-old boy allegedly stabbed a Bloods gang member more than twice his age this month, say violent crime is rampant around the NYCHA housing complex.
“I don’t let my kids play around here,” said Bielka Munoz, who has three teen daughters. “Shootings are a problem around here. You never know what could happen.”
Murders in the 120th Precinct, where the shooting occurred, have jumped 250% compared with last year, with seven killings to date this year.
Andrew Califf 