2 people shot in Brooklyn, including 11-year-old boy
CROWN HEIGHTS, Brooklyn (WABC) -- Police say two people -- including an 11-year-old boy -- were unintended targets of a shooting in Brooklyn Thursday night.
Authorities say the gunman opened fire around 7 p.m. on Schenectady Avenue in Crown Heights, apparently trying to shoot another person from 50 feet away but missed.
The boy and a 31-year-old man who were standing on the sidewalk in the vicinity of a nearby supermarket were struck by bullets.
"He wasn't crying, he wasn't making any sound," eyewitness Anna Shermer said. "He was just wide-eyed, and it looked pretty bad. The mother and everyone else was very hysterical."
The boy was shot in the torso and was taken to Kings County Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition.
"He still has very serious concerns that have to be addressed in terms of his health situation, but he is stable," Mayor Bill de Blasio said.
The boy's relatives tell Eyewitness News he is a fifth-grader here at PS 167 and that he was just on his way home from a haircut for his school graduation, which was Friday. Instead, he spent hours in surgery.
The man was shot in the left knee. His injuries are not considered life-threatening.
"We already have received multiple phone calls and had multiple conversations with community members who are outraged about what happened here," NYPD Deputy Chief Michael Kemper said.
Police arrested 27-year-old Angel Eaddy is charged with attempted murder, assault, reckless endangerment and weapons possession.
Authorities say he fired six shots at his intended target, missing him and striking the two innocent victims.
"We can't let incidents like this go unchecked, and we can't let shooters believe that they can do this with impunity," NYPD Chief Jeffrey Maddrey said. "Now more than ever I implore my community, Crown Heights, Bed-Stuy, Fort Greene, whatever, we have to work together, and we have to keep our community safe."
The motive for the shooting is not yet known.
Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams issued the following statement:
"Thanks to everyone in our Crown Heights community who came out to the scene last night to show support for our 11-year-old neighbor who was victimized by senseless gun violence," "We pray for the speediest of recoveries. It is amazing, given the number of rounds that were discharged, that more people were not hit. Clearly, the person who did this had a total disregard for public safety and human life. This is Gun Violence Awareness Month, and we need to be more than aware that gun violence is on the rise in north Brooklyn. The latest statistics from the NYPD show a 34.8% increase in shooting incidents in Brooklyn North this year to date, compared to last year. We must get in front of this crisis. I renew my call for Mayor de Blasio to increase funding to the Mayor's Office to Prevent Gun Violence, including access for our underfunded faith-based interventions. We need citywide, proactive street-level engagement to stop at-risk individuals before they become a public safety threat and offer them a different path."
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