BRONX, N.Y. (TCN) —Â Police arrested two teenagers they allege were involved in a schoolyard gang fight that resulted in a 16-year-old innocent bystander getting shot in the head.
According to NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny, on Monday, May 12, just after 5 p.m., a group of teenagers got into a gang-related physical altercation near Bronx Latin School at Home Street and Tinton Avenue. The fight was reportedly a continuation from an incident earlier in the day involving the two groups.
The suspected shooter, a 14-year-old, allegedly pulled out a gun during the scuffle and fired three shots, one of which struck Evette Jeffrey in the head. Kenny said Jeffrey did not have any involvement in the fight and was instead hit as she tried to take cover behind a brick wall. EMS transported her to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced deceased.
The U.S. Marshals Service said in a statement that the suspect “was punched in the face and knocked to the ground by another boy.” Someone else in the fight allegedly “slipped the suspect a pistol,” and he fired. Kenny believes the teen who punched the suspect in the face was the intended target.
Detectives began canvassing the area and identified the 14-year-old suspect. They went to arrest him the next morning and found him attempted to enter a taxi. He reportedly tried to flee, but officers and marshals apprehended him.
WPIX-TV reports the suspect is being charged with murder, attempted murder, manslaughter, and criminal mischief. On Monday, May 19, officers reportedly arrested a 13-year-old for allegedly giving the other suspect the gun. He’s facing charges of manslaughter, murder, criminal possession of a weapon, and reckless endangerment.
Jeffrey’s grandmother told WPIX, “It’s not fair. She didn’t bother nobody. She didn’t go looking for fights or nothing like that.”
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