May 13 (UPI) — Police on Tuesday arrested a 14-year-old boy for the shooting death of a 16-year-old girl who was struck by a stray bullet as a fight between two rival gangs at a Bronx school devolved.
The suspect, who was not identified, was arrested by New York City police officers and U.S. Marshals Service agents at about 10:45 a.m. EDT Tuesday, some 18 hours after Evette Jeffrey was fatally shot at the Bronx Latin School early Monday evening.
Authorities said she was shot in the head as she cowered for safety behind a brick wall at the school as the suspect pulled out a firearm, and let off three rounds into the crowd.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told reporters during a press conference Tuesday that the shooting was gang related.
Prior to Monday’s shooting, the suspect had been involved in what Kenny described as a “a fistfight — old-school schoolyard fistfight” that was caught on surveillance camera.
The suspect appeared in the footage to have been the “winner” of the altercation, Kenny said. A second person then ran up and punched the suspect in the head.
It was not clear exactly how much time passed between the two scenes, but Kenny said the second person is believed to have been the intended target of the Monday evening shooting that left Jeffrey dead.
“The victim, Evette Jeffery, was not involved in this dispute,” Kenny said. “She was an innocent bystander, who was simply trying to take cover behind the brick wall and was struck in the head by one of the rounds.”
She was transported by emergency services to Lincoln Hospital where she was pronounced dead at 5:56 p.m.
Kenny said the suspect was located Tuesday morning following a night of investigative work near the intersection of of East 163rd Street and 952 Rev. James A. Polite Avenue trying to enter a taxi.
The suspect was arrested after trying to flee the scene when he became aware of the police presence, Kenny said, adding that charges were pending.
He said the altercation was between two gangs — the FOE, Forest Over Everything, and KOD, Kreep On Davidson, a new organization.
The NYPD’s criminal group database has no listed KOD members, while it contains 16 listed FOE members.
The suspect, Kenny added, does have previous interactions with police, but he did not elaborate.
The shooting prompted remarks of remorse and calls to end gun violence in the Bronx and across the country from politicians.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams said: “It is heartbreaking and maddening that gang violence has once against cut short the lives of two young New Yorkers — a beautiful girl with so much life ahead and a 14-year-old suspect who could have chosen the right path.”
Rep. Ritchie Torres, a Democrat who represents the Bronx, said they were “grieving” for Jeffrey.
“No family should ever have to endure this kind of pain. Evette should be alive today,” he said on X. “I’m sending prayers and strength to her loved ones as they navigate this unimaginable loss.”
Bronx Latin School serves grades six through 12, according to its website.
According to The Gun Violence Archive, there have been at least 5,162 gun-related deaths so far this year across the United States. Among those deaths are at least 344 teens between the ages of 12 and 17, it said.
