A 16-year-old girl, Evette Jeffrey, was fatally shot in the head while riding her scooter near a Bronx school on Monday afternoon. According to The New York Post and ABC7NY, the shooting occurred around 5 p.m. after a fistfight among teenage boys escalated. The unfortunate incident occurred outside a Morrisania school complex housing three institutions.
Jeffrey, uninvolved in the fight, was an unintended victim, police said. Surveillance footage showed a group of teens leaving the schoolyard and moving into a nearby walkway, where a physical altercation erupted. One boy punched another, who later retrieved a pistol, allegedly handed to him. Then he fired three rounds into the crowd, striking Jeffrey.
“She immediately falls to the ground, while the other children run away for their lives,” said NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch during a press briefing. A friend of the victim reportedly tried to protect her but was unable to stop the tragedy.
The suspected shooter, just 14 years old, remains at large. No arrests have been made.
Mayor Eric Adams visited the scene, calling the incident a “senseless tragedy.” Adams equally urged parents to monitor their children more closely. “We should not have had a 14-year-old with a gun,” Adams stated, announcing increased police presence around local schools.
This marks the first homicide in the 42nd Precinct this year. Despite the tragedy, the Bronx has seen a significant drop in violent crime, with murders and shootings down 30% compared to last year, per NYPD data.
#Clique, what are your thoughts?