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A 13-year-old boy was shot and killed outside a Bronx cafe on Sunday afternoon in what police officials said they believed was a gang-related attack targeting the boy.
Shortly after 3 p.m., a dark sedan drove down East 187th Street, in the Belmont section of the Bronx, where the boy was standing outside Angels Cafe, police said. An armed man exited the vehicle and started shooting, hitting the boy once in the chest and once in the leg, a police spokesperson said.
A witness at the scene, about a block west of the Bronx Zoo, said he heard “about eight shots” being fired, WABC-TV reported. The boy tripped inside the cafe after being shot, The New York Daily News reported. “He walked in, fell and died in the restaurant,” a restaurant worker named Jennifer told the newspaper. “We didn’t see what happened, however,” she said.
The boy, identified as Jaryan Elliot, was taken to St Barnabas Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said.
New York City Police Department Chief Rodney Harrison said on Twitter that the 13-year-old was “the target” of a gang-linked shooting. “Gang violence is rampant at #NYC and must stop,” he added.
Richie Madera, 20, said he and the victim grew up together in the corner of the cafe and spoke just before the shooting. “I told him, ‘Be careful,’” recalls Mr. Madera. “He was a good boy.”
A cardboard memorial with candles and handwritten messages was placed outside the victim’s building. “All angels go to heaven,” read one message.
A few hours after the shooting, Angels Cafe was largely cleaned up. A few people stood as police examined the yellow labels on the sidewalk and inside the cafe.
Across the street, a bodega had a sign on its window that read “Stop the violence – No more shooting”, with information about a vigil for a 19-year-old who was shot dead a few blocks away. houses this month.
Local officials were shocked by the latest shooting and the victim’s young age. “We have to be serious and smart about crime! City Councilor Oswald J. Feliz, who represents the area where the shooting took place, wrote on Twitter. “We cannot and will not continue to lose our children! In a brief telephone interview, Mr. Feliz said: “People are very, very concerned about crime in their neighborhood. Crime is on the rise.
As of June 13, the latest date covered by the police department’s online crime figures, there had been 765 shootings in the city, with 886 victims. At the same time last year, there had been 555 shootings with 670 victims, according to department figures.
The latest shooting comes a day before President Biden meets with Eric Adams, the former police captain and declared winner of the Democratic mayoral primary, and others to discuss tackling gun violence, reported the Wall Street Journal.
Teá Kvetenadze contributed reporting.
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