Elected officials, advocates and Brooklyn residents came together Friday evening to condemn yet another fatal shooting in the borough — one that claimed the life of 12-year-old Kade Lewin.
“I don’t want to be out here come this summer [mourning more gun-related deaths],” said Borough President Antonio Reynoso during the April 1 rally near the corner of Linden Boulevard and East 56th Street in East Flatbush.
On that very corner one night earlier, Lewin — who lived with his mother in Flatlands — was gunned down while eating dinner in a car with his aunt and an 8-year-old girl at around 7:45 pm.
His aunt, 20, was struck multiple times during the March 31 shooting, and was whisked to Kings County Hospital where she underwent surgery and is expected to make a full recovery. The young girl was unharmed, police noted, but the young boy was shot in the head.
The three victims lived in the area according to authorities, and while the investigation is still in its preliminary stage, police are still trying to determine if their vehicle was the intended target.
At Linden and East 56th Street on Friday, friends and family remembered Lewin as a “good son.” “This mother is suffering,” said Reynoso, who called the child’s death a “tragic loss for the community.”
Brooklyn’s new Beep was joined at the Friday night vigil by a cadre of colleagues in government, including Councilmember Darlene Mealy and state Sen. Zellnor Myrie, as well as local gun violence interrupters and members of the victim’s family, including the boy’s mother.
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, a Brooklyn native, told the crowd that he’d experienced trauma as a child. Now, he watches as other families carry their own painful experiences through life.
“We need more resources for this area,” he plead.
“A child shouldn’t be buried by their mothers,” added State Assembly candidate Hercules Reid.
Ahead of the the vigil, the pols joined local clergy and members of Elite Learners — a local organization that provides athletic, educational and mentorship programming to youth and their families — for a rally against gun violence. There, participants called for peace — and an end to “senseless” gun violence citywide.
The night of the shooting, Assistant Chief Michael Kemper, the Commanding Officer of Patrol Borough Brooklyn South, made similar pleas.
“Once again, I’m standing here before you to brief you on another senseless shooting. This time the shooting involved the death of a 12-year-old child,” he said at the scene. “We’re actually pleading for the public’s help and assistance in helping us solve this case. If anyone has any information in relation to this horrific incident. We urge you to call our Crime Stoppers Hotline.”
Mayor and former Brooklyn Beep Eric Adams joined Kemper at the rainy scene the night Lewin was killed to condemn yet another loss of innocent life.
“A 12-year-old we lost sitting here eating. The question I continue to ask: What about the innocent people? What about people that are sitting in their cars and are shot and killed?” Adams told press on March 31. “When are we going to start fighting for the innocent people of this city? I’m going to do that and this police department is going to do that. We’re going to catch the shooter but as long as we have guns in a revolving door system, we’re going to continue to come to crime scenes like this. It’s time for it to stop. That’s why we’re here. We’re gonna do our job.”
Authorities said Thursday that the NYPD is seeking the public’s help searching for two black sedans they believe are connected to the incident. No further details have been released.
In a statement Friday, area Councilmember Farah Louis said Lewin’s family should be preparing for his upcoming graduation from middle school, instead of burying him.
“This senseless act of violence is a sobering reminder of why we need to get guns off our streets and out of our neighborhoods,” she said. “There are steps and actions that need to be made to ensure our words and condolences are no longer empty with each shooting.”
As of March 27, shootings were up 80 percent in East Flatbush’s 67th Precinct, where Thursday’s slaying occurred, according to the most recent NYPD data available. That percentage represents 9 reported shooting incidents year-to-date — up from just five during the same time period in 2021.
Citywide, shootings also remain on the incline — up from 238 year-to-date in 2021 to 279 this year, according to NYPD data.
