3-Year-Old Yaseem Jenkins Dies After Surviving 2019 Shooting Where Authorities Say Father Used Him As Human Shield
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Three-year-old Yaseem Jenkins, who survived a shooting in 2019, died on Tuesday, District Attorney Larry Krasner said Thursday afternoon. Krasner says his office is awaiting the medical examiner's report on the cause of death.
"We have reason to believe the cause of death is his original injury from the shooting," Krasner said.
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Jenkins' was just 11-months-old at the time of the shooting, which left him in critical condition. Authorities say his father, Nafes Monroe, used him as a human shield while trying to buy drugs with counterfeit cash in North Philadelphia.
Monroe was arrested and charged with recklessly endangering another person and endangering the welfare of a child.
The alleged shooter, 29-year-old Francisco Ortiz, is charged with attempted murder. Krasner says his office is prepared for separate trials for Ortiz and if Jenkins' death is deemed a result of his injuries sustained in the shooting additional charges including murder could be filed.
Ortiz is also connected to the 2019 deadly shooting of 2-year-old Nikolette Rivera. Police say the gun used to kill Rivera was given to the suspects in that case by Ortiz.