In string of teen shootings in New York, two 15-year-olds charged in separate fatalities
In the latest of an October spate of teen shootings in New York City, two 15-year-olds face charges and another two teens are dead.
The first shooting happened the evening of Oct. 16, a New York Police Department spokesperson told Paste BN.
Someone called authorities about a male that had been shot. The victim, later identified as 18-year-old McNally Zamor, had been shot in the head.
Emergency responders came and took him to the Brookdale Hospital Medical Center in Brooklyn, where his condition was initially listed as critical.
The next day, authorities arrested a 15-year-old boy and charged him with second-degree attempted murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
Zamor died from his injuries nine days after the shooting and the case is now considered a homicide, the NYPD said.
The Brooklyn District Attorney's Office plans to upgrade the charges in the grand jury, a spokesperson for the DA's office told Paste BN Friday afternoon.
In another case, which claimed the life of 16-year-old Clarence Jones, a 15-year-old was charged with second-degree murder, the NYPD said.
Jones was shot in the torso on Oct. 24. He was taken to NYC Health and Hospitals/Harlem, where doctors pronounced him dead. The 15-year-old arrested in his case was taken into custody Thursday night, the NYPD said.
Multiple teen shooting victims reported in New York City in October
According to the NYPD, there have been at least four other shootings involving teenagers recently, including:
- Malachi Deberry, 15, was killed on Oct. 25. Officers were called about an assault. Once at the scene, officers found Deberry, who had been shot in the head. He was taken to Maimonides Medical Center, where he eventually died.
- Taearion Mungo, 16, was shot on Oct. 26. Someone called the police that night about a male who was shot. Officers found the victim with a gunshot wound to the chest. Mungo was taken to New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, where he later died.
- Tristan Sanders, 15, was killed Sunday, Oct. 27, authorities said. A caller contacted police Sunday night about a male who had been shot. Officers said the victim had been shot in his chest. He was taken to NYC Health and Hospitals/Kings County in critical condition, where doctors eventually pronounced him dead.
- Joshua Sparrow, 18, was killed on Monday, Oct 28. Police were called that night about a male who had been shot in the 41st Precinct. The victim had been shot in the head and torso. He was taken to NYC Health and Hospitals/Lincoln, where he was later pronounced dead.
As of Friday afternoon, there have been no arrests in connection to any of these deaths, the NYPD said.
Slain Brooklyn teen wanted to be a songwriter and was ‘very loving’
The teenager who died on Oct. 25, McNally, liked writing songs and was “very loving,” said his father McNally Zamor Sr. while speaking to the New York Daily News.
“He graduated from Canarsie High School and he wanted to be a songwriter,” his father told the outlet, adding that he was his youngest child.
As his dad reflected on his son's death, he told the Daily News he was worried about gun violence in the area including Canarsie, a neighborhood in southeastern Brooklyn.
“Canarsie has always been a quiet, good place to live,” the teen’s father said. “It has been turned upside down now. And the city, too – now they’re shooting all over.”
According to the outlet, police are not sure what led to the shooting but they are trying to see if it may be connected to an earlier shooting incident.
Saleen Martin is a reporter on Paste BN's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757. Follow her on Twitter at @SaleenMartin or email her at sdmartin@usatoday.com.