Mayor Adams meets with family of fatally shot 12-year-old boy in Brooklyn
BROOKLYN (WABC) -- Mayor Eric Adams on Monday met with the family of a 12-year-old boy who was shot and killed while eating in a parked car in Brooklyn.
The visit comes on the heels of Adams talking to leaders in Washington about tackling New York City's surge in gun violence.
Kade Lewin was shot in the head while sitting in the car with his relatives at East 56th Street and Linden Boulevard in East Flatbush.
Twenty-year-old Jenna Ellis was the driver and was in critical condition at Kings County Hospital after she was shot six times. Ellis is out of the ICU and able to communicate verbally, but remains hospitalized.
"This amazing young girl was just taking care of her young family members, treating them to food," Adams said. "Just had them out enjoying the day, the night, pulled over to watch a movie and to eat the food, and in that instant, lost him, lost Kade. Whose child is next?"
The black Toyota was parked at a hydrant so the kids could eat when someone in a passing car opened fire. The windows were blown out, and Lewin -- who was sitting in the passenger seat -- was shot and killed.
Police believe it was a case of mistaken identity after a dark-colored sedan was seen on surveillance video circling the block three times before the shots rang out.
The Lewin family had asked for help to pay the mounting bills for Ellis' care and Kade's funeral expenses.
To help Ellis' family they've set up a GoFundMe here, while Lewin's family has set up this GoFundMe to help pay for the young boy's funeral.
"This violence, this gun action, it has to stop," said Jennifer Jones Ellis, Jenna's mother. "It is way too much. My nephew, he's gone, never to return to this world. My daughter is laid up in the hospital blaming herself. Why should she blame herself?"
She pleaded for people to not just record crimes happening, but rather use those phones to call the police.
"All I'm asking, please come forward, please, please somebody say something," Kade's mother, Suzette Lewin said. "I'm asking for justice for Kade. Please, I'm asking for justice, please."
Over the weekend, Adams talked about gun violence on CBS.
"We have a small number of gun dealers that are just skating in law," he said. "We are dealing with the problem with ghost guns...it's imperative that we come up with clear messages around ghost guns and the kits that assemble them. And I believe Washington is going to do that, then we need to put money into the ATF."
Those are long-term solutions, but violence is surging right now. In the case of the shooting last Friday, police are still looking for the vehicle involved, which is said to have stolen Florida plates.
This was one of several recent incidents where a child was struck by unintended gunfire this year in New York City.
-- March 25, A 3-year-old girl was shot in the arm outside a day care in Brownsville, Brooklyn. She has been released from the hospital.
-- March 21, A 7-year-old girl was grazed in the stomach as she and her mother walked home in Coney Island, Brooklyn. She was treated and released.
-- Jan. 29, An 11-month-old girl shot in the face as she sat in the backseat of a car parked in the Bronx. She also survived.
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