Police in the Bronx have arrested the young suspect accused of firing the fatal stray bullet that claimed the life of a 16-year-old girl who had dreams of becoming a nurse and saving the lives of others.
NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny announced that the 14-year-old murder suspect was cuffed on Tuesday by the NYPD Regional Fugitive Task Force and the United States Marshal Service. Authorities tracked the child killer to Reverend James Polite Avenue near the intersection of East 163rd Street at approximately 10:45 a.m. on May 13.
“As the perpetrator attempted to enter a taxi, he realized the presence of police and tried to flee the scene, but our officers moved in quickly and apprehended him without further incident,” Chief Kenny said. “Our investigators never stopped working throughout the night, gathering evidence, building a case, and tracking down the suspect.”
The arrest came amid an eerily quiet morning in Morrisania, the Bronx neighborhood shaken by the senseless May 12 killing of Evette Selena Jeffrey.
School safety officers solemnly patrolled up and down the sidewalks outside Bronx Career and College Preparatory High School, where the shooting unfolded at about 5 p.m. Monday. Flowers strapped to the mesh of a nearby playground swayed in the breeze and residents walked with their heads bowed.
Bronx grandma laments: ‘She is not coming back’
Mere blocks away, Jeffrey’s grandmother clung to her apartment door while speaking with amNewYork — fighting back tears as she mourned her family’s horrific loss.
“She was a typical teenage girl,” said the grandmother, who declined to give her name. “No matter what I say, she is not coming back.”
Jeffrey’s uncle, Jose Sanchez, described the family as close-knit and his late niece as a vibrant and loving person who, when she grew up, yearned to help others.
“She wanted to be a nurse. She wanted to work to help her community, the community she comes from,” Sanchez told amNewYork.
Sanchez revealed that on May 12, Jeffrey had been celebrating her one-year anniversary with her boyfriend. The pair had lunch together before stopping by the school to hang out with friends.
Sanchez revealed that on May 12, Jeffrey had been celebrating her one-year anniversary with her boyfriend. The pair had lunch together before stopping by the school to hang out with friends.
“She just made one year with her boyfriend, and they actually were coming back — he took her out to eat to celebrate one year together, and they went to that park to visit some of their friends, and she was riding around on her scooter while he was talking to a couple of friends,” Sanchez said. “She was completely oblivious as to what was going on.”
According to Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, a fight broke out between a group of teens, and amidst the chaos, a 14-year-old boy opened fire. Police say the bullet passed by the intended target and struck Jeffrey in the head.
“Our victim is seen riding from the schoolyard toward the walkway on a scooter,” Tisch said Monday night. “She does not engage in the fight and immediately walks over to another male at the edge of the group, who attempts to pull her behind a brick wall for cover. When the shots are fired, our victim, whom we believe to be an unintended target, is struck, and she immediately falls to the ground.”
Jeffrey died a short time later at Lincoln Hospital.
‘An old schoolyard fight’ that ended with death
Chief Kenny now says he believed the fight started as a result of what he called an “old school yard fight” that escalated into a gang dispute between members of the Creep on Davidson gang and Forest Over Everything gang, the latter of which he says has 16 members listed in their gang database.
After the would-be shooter won the scuffle, another boy punched him in the face, leading to a gun being handed to the suspect, who then opened fire, police explained.
Locals say violence like this is nothing new. Sanchez described the community as a hard-working one inhabited by parents. However, he also said that he believes many of the children in the area fall victim to external influences that create dangerous situations, so much so that he said his niece, at times, did not want to go outside and visit the local store.
“They get exposed to a lot of the bad things. So, just to give you an idea, Evette would tell us from time to time that just walking to the store could be a little dangerous for her,” Sanchez explained. “People would hang out in front of the stores, and they would, you know, mock her, bully her, and not her personally, just everyone. It’s just a very dangerous neighborhood.”
These risks were echoed by other members of the community to Mayor Eric Adams as he visited the site of the tragedy that night. They demanded a higher police presence and more school safety agents.
A of 20 years, Mildred Cueto, told amNewYork that her children used to go to the school where Jeffrey was gunned down and would often walk her dog around the time the violence unfolded. She says she would like to see the city take action and is distressed that killing has become a normal part of life.
“This is happening a lot, every year they kill somebody,” Cueto said. “I don’t see a lot of police around here. I think that they need somebody to be paying attention to them as they leave school.”
Student of Bronx Career and College Preparatory High School, who went by Rhiny, told amNewYork that she is new to the school and gave a chilling response when asked if she is scared about what took place at her school.
“We live in the Bronx. So, it’s scary everywhere we go,” Rhiny said.
