A 17-year-old teenager died last night after he was found shot inside a Brooklyn (NYC) apartment building.
NYPD officers responding to a call about a person shot found the teen lying in a stairwell inside the building on Caton Ave. near Bedford Ave, Flatbush neighborhood, around 8:55 p.m. Friday, police said.
The juvenile was found unconscious with a gunshot wound to his lower back. He was lying on the stairway landing between the first and second floors of the six-story building. It is unclear if any residents heard the sounds of gunshots or if the victim lived there.
Paramedics rushed him to Kings County Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, the Daily News reported.
No arrests have been made, and no suspects have been identified. Anyone with information should call 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) and Spanish 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). Also, via crimestoppers.nypdonline.org or by text message to 274637 (CRIMES), followed by TIP577. All communications are strictly confidential.
Young people are increasingly central to New York’s gun violence as both victims and perpetrators, particularly in shootings and knife attacks. A recent NYPD report found that recidivism among teens increased dramatically over the past five years.
Following a boom in shootings in 2020 and 2021, particularly among young gang members and/or victims, 2022 closes with the same trend. In many cases, gunmen use “ghost” guns because they lack serial numbers to be traced and are usually homemade.