Boy Davell Gardner Jr. was killed and three men were injured after two gunmen opened fire at a family meal outside the Raymond Bush playground in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood.
The grandmother of a one-year-old boy killed in his stroller near a Brooklyn playground on Sunday demanded an end to New York City’s gun violence.
Samantha Gardner told Fox News on Monday: ‘For the cowards who did this, you should be ashamed of yourself because everyone talks about important black lives. What about babies’ lives? What about teen life? Like, you took an innocent child from her mother and father, as well as from grandparents. I do not think it’s fair.
Boy Davell Gardner Jr. was killed and three men were injured after two gunmen opened fire at a family meal outside on the Raymond Bush playground in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood on Sunday night. All three men were expected to survive.
The boy’s grandmother, Samantha, had previously told The New York Daily News: ‘So when is it going to end? When are these young African-Americans, when are they going to stop the shooting and murder of all these innocent children? It does not make any sense.
Calling Davell the “joy” in his life, he added: “They need to stop this gun violence.” I feel like this: all of you are ranting and raving about black lives. But you lead a life that was only one and a half years old. And it’s not fair.
She added: “I hope they catch the breasts and put them under the cell.”
The boy’s father, Davell Sr., said: ‘The community is getting worse and worse. No one is doing anything about it. No one. No one is trying to make a change. And it is sad to say that. As if each day was worse. You don’t know if you’re going to live to see the next day.
Gardner Jr. was in his stroller around 11:30 p.m. when two men dressed in black approached, shot and fled, the New York Times reported, citing police. Davell, who received a blow to the abdomen, died in the hospital, the Times said.
The boy’s father, Davell Sr., and grandma Samantha spoke after his death.
Police said the boy had been sitting in a stroller. He left a stroller in place and several chairs on the sidewalk.
The New York Post pictured the boy’s mother crying on the scene
Davell Sr. added: ‘You took my son’s life. I can’t get that back. I can’t hold it anymore. I can’t hear him calling me daddy ever again. I can’t kiss them anymore. I can’t play with them anymore. I can’t do anything with it anymore.
I have to put my son and down now. He is only one. His birthday is in two months, in two months. He did not live to see two. He did not live life. It’s like I want to get him out of here before something like that happens.
Mayor Bill de Blasio observed a moment of silence and declared himself “heartbroken” on Monday over the boy’s death, part of a recent increase in gun violence in the city.
“It is just horrible,” de Blasio said at a press conference to discuss the coronavirus. ‘One year old boy, Davell Gardner Jr., playing on a playground. Davell was just beginning his life and his life was full of possibilities. And now it’s gone.
Police officers were photographed on the scene in the cross section of Marcus Garvey Boulevard and Madison Street after the shooting.
Gardner Jr. was in his stroller around 11:30 p.m. when two men dressed in black approached, shot and fled, the New York Times reported, citing police. Davell, who received a blow to the abdomen, died in the hospital, the Times said.
Police said the boy had been sitting in a stroller. He left a stroller in place and several chairs on the sidewalk.
The boy died around 2.30 a.m. on Monday after being transported to the Maimonides Medical Center.
The New York Post pictured the boy’s mother crying on the scene. The other victims have not been identified.
The sharp increase in shootings in New York, Chicago, and other U.S. cities, amid the social disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic, runs counter to a 20-year trend toward less crime.
Police officers were photographed on the scene in the cross section of Marcus Garvey Boulevard and Madison Street after the shooting.
The boy died around 2.30 in the morning on Monday after being transported to the Maimonides Medical Center.
The sharp rise in shootings in New York, Chicago, and other US cities, amid the social disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic, runs counter to a 20-year trend toward less crime.
Davell’s shooting was one of 11 incidents in which 16 people were killed in New York over the weekend, WABC television reported.
The shootings increased more than 50 percent this year during 2019 with 585 incidents reported as of July 5, the New York Times said.
De Blasio mentioned a separate weekend incident in which a 12-year-old boy was shot in the leg.
‘You can never take your eyes off something like this and be insensitive to it. Today I am heartbroken, ” de Blasio said.
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