Rally to stop the violence in Brooklyn

NEW YORK

A man was shot in the eye during a fight on a crowded basketball court on Schaefer Street in Bushwick just after 8 p.m. Thursday, and a community advocate calling for change.

The gunman managed to escape, and no arrests have been made.

The incident took place in the same neighborhood where 3-year-old Isaiah Rivera was grazed by a bullet while playing in a park sprinkler earlier this week.

The community came together on Wednesday night, and the boy's father had a message for the community.

"This needs to stop," he said. "This needs to stop today."

That was just one of nearly 80 shootings in the past week, prompting NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly to criticize community activists for their lack of outrage over illegal handguns.

"We have not had a demonstration about this 3-year-old shot," Kelly said. "We haven't had a demonstration about the level of violence."

There was outrage in the community, but it was all directed at Kelly's remarks. Leaders are angry at police tactics they say target minorities, as well as government cutbacks that limit their opportunity.

"The failure to invest in people who look like me, and what you see is wasted potential and blood at your door," New York City Councilwoman Leticia James said.

The 24-year-old victim in Thursday's shooting is expected to survive.

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