At Least One Child Dead Following Stabbing In East New York
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Police say a 6-year-old boy is dead and a 7-year-old girl is in critical condition following a stabbing in the East New York section of Brooklyn.
It happened just before 6 p.m. Sunday at a building at 845 Schenck Avenue.
Police say the boy was found in an elevator where the stabbing is believed to have occurred, and the girl was found just outside the building.
Police say both were hospitalized at Brookdale University Hospital where the boy, Prince Joshua Avitto, was pronounced dead, and the girl, Michaela Capers was left fighting for her life.
On Sunday night, Capers was to be transferred to Columbia Presbyterian for surgery, CBS 2's Jessica Schneider reported.
The pair were headed inside to get a snack when the attack occurred, according to neighbors.
"They were just going inside to get ices, that's it, they weren't bothering anybody," Sophia Diaz said.
Police say they are searching for a heavyset, male suspect in his 20s, he was apparently wearing a grey sweatshirt. The complex has been surrounded by police tape, and officers were manning every entrance.
"He was last seen running eastbound through the development. We did recover a knife in the vicinity of 857 Schenck Avenue," Chief of Brooklyn Detectives, Patrick Conry said.
Now, the community is crying out for help.
"These are babies," Inez Rodgriguez said, "Why would anyone want to harm children?"
Neighbors were struggling to understand how two young children could be so brutally attacked for no apparent reason.
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