Police: 12-year-old boy killed, woman injured by stray bullets in Brooklyn shooting

NEW YORK -- In a shocking case of gun violence, a 12-year-old boy in a car was killed when he was hit with stray bullets Thursday night in Brooklyn. Police said the child was sitting in a car when people in two other cars started firing at each other.

Officers were sent to Linden Boulevard and East 56th Street in East Flatbush around 7:45 p.m. in response to 911 calls for shots fired. The street remained shut down Friday morning, CBS2's Andrea Grymes reported.

Once at the scene, police found three individuals inside the parked Toyota Corolla-- a 20-year-old woman, a 12-year-old boy and an 8-year-old girl. Police said the three were family members who live in the area.

"Once again, I'm standing here before you to brief you on another senseless shooting, this time the shooting involving the death of a 12-year-old child," NYPD Assistant Chief Michael Kemper said.

The 12-year-old boy, who was in the passenger seat, had been shot multiple times and was pronounced dead at the scene. The 20-year-old woman, who was in the driver's scene, was also shot multiple times. She was taken to a local hospital, where she underwent surgery and was expected to survive. The 8-year-old girl was in the back seat and uninjured.

Investigators said they do not believe the family was targeted.  

"A preliminary investigation reveals that the three pulled over in the car to eat some food when shots were fired that penetrated their vehicle," Kemper said.

The motive for the shooting was unknown. Police said officers are searching for two black sedans that fled the scene and asking the public for tips.

"We're going to take all our resources we have to solve this crime, but we're not gonna be able to do it without the public's help," NYPD Chief Joseph Galata said.

At the scene, Mayor Eric Adams said the city's attention must be on victims, not criminals.

"The question I continue to ask, what about the innocent people? What about people that are sitting in their cars and they're shot and killed? We hear so much about those who are fighting, but when are we going to start fighting for the innocent people of this city? And I'm going to do that, and this police department's going to do that," Mayor Eric Adams said. "We're going to catch this shooter, but at long as we have guns and a revolving door system, we're going to continue to come to crime scenes like these. It's time for it to stop and that's why we're here. We're going to do our job. We need everyone to help us ending this senseless violence."

Gov. Kathy Hochul tweeted about the shooting. 

"12 years old. A life cut short, a family grieving, and an entire community traumatized. We must do more to get illegal guns off our streets and to stop violence before it stops," Hochul wrote. 

Anyone with any information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). You can also submit a tip via their website or via DM on Twitter, @NYPDTips. All calls are kept confidential.

In:
• East Flatbush
• Brooklyn