The NYPD has issued an apology to a Brooklyn teenager whom they falsely identified as a suspect in a West Indian Day Parade shooting last year that killed one and wounded four. However, the apology came with a caveat.
Police pointed the finger at 15-year-old Camden Lee as the alleged shooter who opened fire on the afternoon of Sept. 2 as the Caribbean culture fest was in full swing. Nearly six months later, the NYPD now says they had the wrong person.
The hail of bullets struck a 69-year-old woman in the right shoulder and a 64-year-old man in the right arm, while a 36-year-old man suffered a gunshot wound to the head. A fourth victim — 25-year-old Denzel Chan of Spring, TX — died later that night after being shot in the abdomen.
“This was not random,” then-Chief of Patrol John Chell said shortly after the incident; Chell is today NYPD Chief of Department. “This was an intentional act by one person towards a group of people.”
Cops later stated that they believed the shooting to be gang-related and shared images over their social media accounts of Lee, deeming him as the prime suspects. Their social media posts with Lee’s image were later deleted.
Lee, on the other hand, says he has nothing to do with the bloodshed. He was on his way home after school football practice when he saw a photo of himself disseminated by the NYPD. The photograph showed Lee standing in the street in shorts and a hoodie with his hands by his side.
“I was on the way home from practice when a friend of mine sent me a screenshot of the CrimeStoppers image, and I seen it, and everything just went blank,” Lee told NY1 in a Feb. 9 broadcast interview. “I was scared. I was thinking about the worst, like the police coming, knocking on my door. Just the worst, me not being able to go to school.”
NY1 also reported that the Lee family lawyer, Wylie Stecklow, said the police told the teen he was not a suspect.
On Feb. 9, police released a statement apologizing for dubbing Lee as the shooter but not for labeling him as a person of interest.
“The NYPD identified a person of interest who was on the scene before, during, and after the incident, which is supported by video evidence and witness accounts,” the NYPD said in its statement. “Social media posts in September mistakenly stated that he was wanted for the fatal shooting rather than stating that he was a person of interest. The NYPD should have immediately corrected this misstatement. We apologize for the error and will continue to seek justice for the victims of this shooting,” a police spokesperson said.
While NYPD sources told amNewYork Metro that they regret the error, they maintained Lee remains a person of interest in the non-fatal shootings, adding that they have surveillance footage from before and after the headline-making incident, which supports their suspicions.
Meanwhile, no arrests have been made in the parade shooting and Chan’s murder. Anyone with information about the incident is encouraged to call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS (for Spanish, dial 888-57-PISTA). You can also submit tips online at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, or on X (formerly Twitter) @NYPDTips. All calls and messages are kept confidential.
