Mother Begs Community To Take Action After 12-Year-Old Is Shot Playing Basketball
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A tearful mother was full of regret after her son took a bullet while playing basketball.
As CBS2's Erin Logan reported, the emotional mother recounted the scary, painful Friday afternoon. She said her son begged her to play basketball at Story Park. She checked to see if he was okay, and got news that no parent even wants to hear.
"A few minutes after I got a phone call with somebody saying my son got shot," Tricia Croal said.
Croal said it happened around 5 p.m. Her son Isaiah Osborne was shot in the left hip. Police said he was likely not the intended target.
"The only thing I was thinking about, I don't ever want to be in that situation," she said.
Fortunately, Isaiah is in stable condition at the hospital. Croal, a mother of eight and daycare provider, clearly lives for her children.
"The lord. I think he heard my tears, he heard my pain," she said.
Croal applauded the police for helping both her and her son on the scene.
"We've gotta blame everybody, not only the cops. We need to work together as a community," she said.
She's asking all parents to be advocates in the community -- if they see something, or know something, say something.
Maria Lassen is on board.
"A lot of people don't want to get involved. I don't think that's right, cause it could've been your kid," she said.
"It's just terrible. It's not safe for kids around here," Jackson Ebony added.
Croal said she plans to put up flyers all over the park and the area urging parents to contact local and state lawmakers about getting surveillance cameras.
"Pretend you're in my situation. We want the other kids to play in the community next year, the other years to come," she said.
Croal's first priority is taking care of her son, and for police to track down the suspect or suspects.
Anyone with information was asked to call the NYPD Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS or (888) 57-PISTA for Spanish, log onto the Crime Stoppers website, or text tips to 274637 (CRIMES) and enter TIP577.
