13-year-old girl shot by stray bullet while sitting on park bench in Brooklyn
BEDFORD-STUYVESANT, Brooklyn (WABC) -- A 13-year old girl is recovering after she was struck by a stray bullet while sitting on a park bench in Brooklyn Wednesday night.
It happened just before 8 p.m. inside St. Andrew's Playground at the intersection of St. Andrew's Place and Herkimer Street in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
Police say two men were arguing inside the playground when one of them pulled out a gun and opened fire.
The girl was sitting on the bench with friends when she was shot in the shoulder. The bullet pierced her lung.
"I just saw kids run up to Herkimer and St. Andrew's, and by the time I looked on the ground, the girl was already on the floor," one witness said. "And they were just standing around her saying, 'Oh my God, oh my God,' and then some of them ran."
The victim was taken to Kings County Hospital in serious but stable condition. She was later transferred to Maimonides Hospital.
No arrests have been made.
Three people were shot in the same playground on Memorial Day weekend.
On Thursday, there were calls for an end to the violence. "We want these guns out of our community," said Tony Herbert, president of the Brooklyn East chapter of the National Action Network.
The 13-year-old was the 11th innocent bystander to be hit with a stray bullet in New York City since June.
Police officers were stationed in the Bed-Stuy park Thursday, keeping a watchful eye.
"Any focal point of a problem, we are going to send in more NYPD officers," said Mayor Bill de Blasio. "That's the one thing I want everyone to understand, if there's a place where there is an uptick in violence, we are sending more officers."
"We are asking everybody and anybody, please call me, I know the community," said Herbert. "I know the streets talk. It's not snitching, it's getting the gun off the street and getting an individual out here from shooting another person's child. We want you to say something. Pick up the phone. If you don't feel comfortable calling the police, call me, call the hotline."
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