A baby sitting inside a stroller in Brooklyn was fatally shot during a series of shootings that took place overnight in the borough, police reported. Six others were wounded.
Law enforcement sources said the one-year-old infant, identified as Davell Gardner Jr., was shot while sitting in a stroller at 11:30 p.m. Sunday, as family members and friends were gathered at a weekend barbecue in front of 464 Madison St. in Bedford Stuyvesant.
Police from the 77th Precinct found little Davell and three others hit during the hail of bullets. The infant suffered a gunshot wound to the stomach, while a 35-year-old man was shot in the groin; a 27-year-old man took a bullet to the ankle; and a 36-year-old was shot in the leg.
EMS rushed baby Davell to Maimonides Medical Center, but could not be saved. The others are undergoing treatment.
Police said that two suspects, described as Black men wearing all-black clothing, had fired into the Madison Street crowd indiscriminately before fleeing through Raymond Bush Playground, leaving residents screaming in pain and horror.
None of the dead or wounded have yet been identified.
“I threw my kids under my bed when I heard pop-pop. I didn’t why this happened, but it is sad to hear a 1-year-old was shot too,” said Kimberly, a resident of the block and mother of two children.
Police officials were outraged by the incident, including new Chief of Community Affairs Jeffrey Maddrey.
“This must stop!” Maddrey exclaimed on Twitter. “We as a community, we as a police department denounce this disgusting violence.”
A one year old child is dead. The baby was with his family enjoying a Sunday night in the Summer when someone started shooting . Three people were injured and the baby was killed. This. Must.STOP! We as a community, we as a police department denounce this disgusting violence. pic.twitter.com/R66DVO6cTA
— NYPD Community Affairs (@NYPDCommAffairs) July 13, 2020
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, a staunch advocate for police reform, also lamented the infant’s loss on Twitter.
“The pain of a [one-year-old] being shot and killed should have the entire city stop in its tracks,” he wrote. “We need real plans of actions. [sic] For the real lives being lost.”
The pain of a 1-yr being shot and killed should have the entire city stop in its tracks.
A 1yr old has been shot dead. We need real plans of actions. For the real lives being lost.#ENOUGH#TooMuchPainhttps://t.co/Z4DCfT6juo
— Jumaane Williams (@JumaaneWilliams) July 13, 2020
A desultory Mayor Bill de Blasio addressed the shooting at the start of his Monday press conference.
“A baby boy, Davell Gardner Jr, one years old, playing at a playground, and Davell was just starting his life and his life was full of possibilities. and now he’s gone,” de Blasio said. “This is not anything we can allow in our city, and it’s heartbreaking. It’s heartbreaking for so many reasons. … But it’s also another indication of the work we have to do. We have to heal. We have to bring our police and our communities together. We have so much to do.”
The second homicide occurred at about 3 a.m. in the lobby of 872 Williams Ave. in the Breukelen Housing Project, a NYCHA development. Officers from the 69th Precinct and PSA2 found a 20-year-old man with gunshot wounds to his head and stomach, police say.
Paramedics rushed the victim to Kings County Hospital, where he died. Police have withheld his identity, pending family notification.
Reporters at the scene said the crowd was hostile to media and demanded no pictures be taken without explanation.
In another unrelated shooting, a 12-year-old boy was wounded while walking in front of 1636 Prospect Place at just past 9 p.m. on July 12.
Detectives said the victim told detectives that he heard shots fired and then realized he had been struck in the right leg. Police determined that the shots came from an unknown location, and were most likely fired from a moving vehicle.
The youth is now in stable condition at Maimonides Medical Center.
Then, at about 11 p.m. on July 12, a man was shot in the arm in front of 518 Lexington Ave. in Bedford-Stuyvesant. He was treated at Brooklyn Hospital for injuries that were not life-threatening.
Anyone with information on any of these shootings is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 888-57-PISTA (74782). You can also submit tips online at nypdcrimestoppers.com, or on Twitter @NYPDTips. All calls and messages are kept confidential.
