NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- A 12-year-old boy was fatally shot in the head and a 20-year-old woman critically injured as they ate in a parked car in Brooklyn on Thursday evening, police said.
An 8-year-old girl who was in the backseat of the vehicle was not physically injured as “numerous shots” were fired in East Flatbush.
The three family members were caught in the crossfire as they sat and ate in a Toyota Corolla parked at East 56th Street and Linden Boulevard around 7:45 p.m.
“The three pulled over in the car to eat some food when shots were fired that penetrated their vehicle,” said Assistant Chief Michael Kemper, the commanding officer of Patrol Borough Brooklyn South, at a rainy, late-night news conference with Mayor Eric Adams.
The boy was in the front passenger seat and suffered multiple gunshot wounds, including to his head, police said.
The 20-year-old woman was in the driver seat and suffered multiple gunshot wounds to her body.
EMS responded and pronounced the boy dead at the scene. The woman was rushed to Kings County Hospital, where she was in critical but stable condition.
The exact relationship between the woman, boy and girl wasn’t immediately known. The boy's name has been withheld pending the notification of his family.
Police said a preliminary investigation found occupants of two dark-colored sedans began exchanging gunfire, striking the victims' Toyota.
The shooting comes amid a spike in gun violence in the city, with shootings up 17% this year and up 71% over 2020. Adams, a former NYPD captain, has vowed to curb the violence.
“The 12-year-old we lost, sitting here in that car, eating,” the mayor said at the news conference. “The question I continue to ask: ‘What about the innocent people? What about people sitting in their cars and they're shot and killed?’”
“We hear so much about those who are fighting, but when are we going to start fighting for the innocent people of this city,” Adams said.
“We’re going to catch this shooter,” he said. “But as long as we have guns and a revolving-door system, we’re going to continue to come to crime scenes like this. It’s time for it to stop.”
Police said the motive for the shooting is currently unknown.
Detectives continued to scour the crime scene overnight as police pleaded for tips from the community.
“We’re going to need the public’s help on this. It’s a senseless crime. We have a 12-year-old that was killed. And we’re going to take all the resources we have to solve this crime, but we’re not going to do it without the public’s help,” said Deputy Chief Joseph Gulotta, the commanding officer of Detective Borough Brooklyn South.
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers hotline 1-800-577-TIPS.
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