Police Question Person Of Interest After 2 Innocent Bystanders Struck By Stray Bullets
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – A suspect is in custody following a stray bullet shooting that injured two innocent bystanders, including an 11-year-old boy, last night in Brooklyn.
So far, 10 people have been struck by stray bullets in eight incidents this month alone.
- June 4 – A 15-year-old girl was shot in thigh while sitting on a bench on a basketball court in Bushwick.
- June 5 – A seven-year-old Bronx boy was shot in the leg while walking home from school with his grandmother.
- June 5 – Two elderly women were shot while sitting in their Queens home.
- June 7 – An East Harlem woman was shot in arm at 102nd Street and Madison Ave.
- June 10 – A man is shot and killed while his walking dog in Hamilton Heights.
- June 12 – A Bronx woman was shot in the arm while walking to work on Williamsbridge Road.
- June 20 - An 11-year-old boy and 31-year-old man were shot on a sidewalk in Crown Heights.
- June 20 - A man, 20, is shot in the neck while sitting in a car in East New York.
Community advocate Tony Herbert called for sweeping changes Friday.
"At the end of the day, it's about working together to try to make things happen," he said. "So that we can make the changes that we're calling for and stop the violence right in its tracks."
"These guys are shooting like it's the wild wild west out here," Derek Perkinson, with the National Action Network, said.
"I'm sick and tired of taking parents, taking mothers to see their children shot up innocently. We denounce the violence in our community," Bishop Willie Billips said.
"I've been a New York City corrections officer for 18 years. I work in the system. I see it every day, and the sad realization is it's not getting any better," BedStuy resident Viola Pugh said.
WATCH: Community Advocates Call For Change After Latest Stray Bullet Shooting
In one of the latest incidents, surveillance video shows the shooter in red shorts walking on the sidewalk of Schenectady Avenue near Lincoln Place before pulling out a gun and opening fire shortly after 7 p.m. Thursday. His target isn't even in the frame.
A man in the foreground ducks behind a stand and makes his way inside a supermarket.
"We heard the gunshots. It was literately right in front of our apartment," witness Anna Schermer told CBS2.
"Wow, this really does happen, and it is a problem that we need to take care of," witness Silvaks Casto said.
The suspect fired multiple shots, hitting an 11-year-old boy in the shoulder and 31-year-old man in the knee. Both victims were standing on the sidewalk and were not the intended targets.
WATCH: NYPD Presser On Latest Stray-Bullet-Shooting
Witnesses said the child's mother cried out at the sight of her injured son.
"'Why would you shoot him? You shot him, you shot my son, you shot him.' The mom was hysterical," said Schermer.
"He was conscious, he was staring – just had that thousand mile stare – mouth agape, just completely shocked," Casto added.
The boy was rushed to the hospital, while the adult took himself.
According to authorities, the man the shooter was aiming for was not hit.
"Oh my god, it's crazy the way he just came out of nowhere and with no regard for anybody's safety, knowing that it's a place with a school nearby," Crown Heights resident Genevieve Primus said.
"We can't let incidents like this go unchecked and we can't let shooters believe that they can do this with impunity," NYPD Assistant Chief Jeffrey Maddrey said.
Angel Eaddy, 27, is being charged with two counts of attempted murder. Police say Eaddy is the man seen on surveillance video firing the gun.
The 11-year-old boy is still in the hospital, but CBS2 has been told he is improving and is expected to make a full recovery. The man who was injured is still in critical condition.
Eaddy is expected to be arraigned Friday night.
