Sources: Police Questioning Person Of Interest In Shooting Death Of Brooklyn 1-Year-Old
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Sources told CBS2 on Thursday afternoon NYPD investigators are questioning a person of interest in the killing of 1-year-old Davell Gardner Jr. earlier this week.
Police located the man in the morning along Ralph Avenue and East 76th Street in Brooklyn.
The 1-year-old died after being shot in the stomach while sitting in his stroller during a barbecue near a playground in Bedford-Stuyvesant on Sunday night. The incident has sparked outrage over the recent surge in shootings citywide and his family has since been rallying to end the increasing gun violence, CBS2's Ali Bauman reported from the 79th Precinct.
WEB EXTRA: Tracking Shootings In New York City
The shooting happened at around 11:30 p.m. outside Raymond Bush Playground on Madison Street.
Sources told CBS2 police believe two men ambushed the victims and fired more than 20 rounds.
Three adults were also wounded, but were expected to survive.
Police released surveillance video in connection with the shooting and the sergeants union is offering a $16,000 reward in the case.
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). You can also submit a tip via their website or on Twitter, @NYPDTips. All calls are kept confidential.
The death of this 1-year-old has sparked calls for unity to stop the surge in gun violence, but police say they're now more restricted in how they get guns off the streets.
On one side of Raymond Bush Playground in Bed-Stuy on Thursday, at the spot where Davell was killed, there was a rally against gun violence. On the other side, there was a fresh crime scene with a hat and shoe strewn on the sidewalk.
"There was a guy ... He was arguing with another guy parked on the corner and he shot him, but he missed, then he took off around this corner," a witness said.
Police say a teenage boy shot into a crowd of other teens around 5:30 p.m. The victim brought himself to the hospital with gunshot wounds to his leg and face.
Hours earlier, police arrested three men for the murder of a Brooklyn father. Last week, Anthony Robinson was walking with his 6-year-old daughter when a car pulled up and its passenger shot him in the chest.
"Handguns, that's our demon. That's the demon, and if we don't focus on those handguns, if we don't stop them from coming into our community, that's the faucet we must turn off," Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams said.
Mayor Bill de Blasio says he's working with the NYPD on a new strategy to get guns off the street.
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But Police Commissioner Dermot Shea says his cops are practically handcuffed by the new police reforms signed by de Blasio on Wednesday, which outlaw chokeholds, as well as sitting, standing or kneeling on a suspect's diaphragm.
Chief of Department Terence Monahan tells CBS2 political reporter Marcia Kramer that he doesn't want cops to worry about the new law, which he believes may have provisions that are unconstitutional.
The police commissioner's stance is now raising questions about his relationship with the mayor, who is his boss. A City Hall spokesman tells CBS2 the two are close.
