A 12-year-old boy was shot to death as he sat in a parked car with his family Thursday night in Brooklyn.
Gunfire erupted just before 8:00 p.m. in the Brooklyn area of New York, the New York Post reported. The three occupants of the Toyota Corolla sedan were eating a meal as the bullets entered the vehicle.
The child was shot in the chest and head, while a 20-year-old woman in the driver’s seat also sustained multiple gunshot injuries, according to the NY Post. An 8-year-old girl in the back seat was not injured, the report noted.
Last night, a 12-year-old child was shot and killed and a young woman critically injured in a tragic, senseless act of violence near E. 56 St. & Linden Blvd, #Brooklyn. While @NYPDDetectives work tirelessly, we need the public’s help. Call @NYPDTips at #800577TIPS with any info. https://t.co/ZRwcIAvUSe
— Commissioner Sewell (@NYPDPC) April 1, 2022
It is unclear whether the family was targeted or if they were hit by stray bullets, NY Post noted. A black Infiniti sedan and another car fled the scene immediately following the shooting, according to witnesses and sources, reported the outlet. (RELATED: Mayor Eric Adams Calls New York City ‘Laughingstock’ Amid Crime Surge)
“They’re killing bystanders and it’s wrong because right now that little boy is lying down in the morgue. You walk the street. You stand up at the corner; you’re coming from the store. You don’t know what’s going to happen. You sit up in your house. People shooting right through your house. I mean, it’s terrible!” a neighbor told ABC7. “The system needs to do something about it and they are not doing anything about it. They need to bring back ‘Stop and Frisk.’ They need to do something about it. It’s really sad.”
“The question I continue to ask, what about the innocent people? What about people sitting in their cars who are shot and killed? We hear so much about those about those who are fighting, but when are we going to start fighting for the innocent people of this city?” said Mayor Eric Adams visited the scene of the shooting Thursday night, according to ABC7.
In February, New York City experienced a 60% increase in crime compared to the same month in 2021, according to ABC7. Assault increased by 22%, robbery by 56% and grand larceny by 79%. Twenty-nine people were shot over the course of one weekend in March, according to NY Daily News.