Lawmakers Calling For Action After Teen Killed In Brooklyn Shooting
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Brooklyn lawmakers are calling for the governor to take action as police search for the gunman who killed a teen and injured another on a busy street.
Melik Hallback said his 17-year-old friend Armani Hankins died in his arms Monday night after two groups of teens clashed on the busy corner of Flatbush Avenue and Dekalb Avenue around 6 p.m.
"I held him," said Hallback, who spoke exclusively with CBS2's Diane Macedo. "He got shot in front of me."
Hallback said he and his friends were walking home when he stopped to grab some pizza. A few seconds later, he heard gunshots coming from the Applebee's.
"I heard the gunshots rang out and he was falling," Hallback said. "I ran and caught him before he hit the floor."
Surveillance video shows a crowd of teens run down the sidewalk, then immediately scatter as another victim, shot in the ankle, hops away. Witnesses said the teens were initially running toward the fight, then ran away to dodge the bullets.
"They ended up fighting over there," one witness said. "Everybody was surrounding it. I couldn't see the middle of it or nothing that happened, but next thing you heard is 'boom, boom, boom, boom."
Police said Hankins was shot in the head. He was taken to Brooklyn Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Local residents said the scenario is becoming far too familiar.
"We don't feel safe," said resident Melanie Colon. "I'm ready to move out of Brooklyn."
"Ever since they stop the stop-and-frisk, violence in Brooklyn has increased dramatically," said resident Joshua Colon.
Christopher George works nearby and now says he wish he didn't.
"You might see 4- or 500 kids and I'm wondering why they don't get cleared out," he told reporters, including 1010 WINS' Glenn Schuck. "School is over, go home, read a book."
Brooklyn's Borough President Eric Adams said the shooting was gang-related. He disagreed about the need for more stop-and-frisk, but asked for more state funds to fight gun violence.
"Gangs are prevalent and it's being ignored because we believe that merely because we build high-end condominiums, we can outshine what is happening on the ground," he said.
He also called for more city after school programs for teens.
"At 3 p.m., we kick them out of the school building to put a sign up that says 'do not enter' and the only place they have to go by are these outstretched business communities," he said.
Meanwhile, police continue to search for the shooter and are asking anyone with information to come forward.
Police said the second victim who was shot in the left ankle is an 18-year-old man. He is currently in stable condition at Methodist Hospital.
The investigation is ongoing.