Joshua Brooks, 27, faces charges after 8-year-old shot in the Bronx
NEW YORK - Charges have been filed against a man accused of shooting an 8-year-old boy in the Bronx as he was getting of the school bus.
Police say the child was not the intended target.
As kids boarded their buses for school Wednesday morning – parents nervously stood by, shaken to learn an 8-year-old was shot the day prior on the same block.
"It makes me mad, and also it makes me paranoid, because now my kids cannot walk," Mott Haven resident Diana Cruz said.
Gunfire erupted just after 5 p.m. Tuesday on Beekman Avenue. Witnesses said they saw one man chasing another, firing several shots. One of the bullets struck a child getting off a school bus in the thigh.
"Gentleman started running, they just shot each other back and forth, the baby caught in the middle, and then everybody dissipated," Mott Haven resident Alejandrina Brioso said.
Police caught the alleged shooter, and also recovered a gun. Joshua Brooks, 27, is charged with attempted murder, felony assault and criminal possession of a weapon, among other crimes.
"That's got to stop. That's not the only shooting that was here. Last year, 17-year-old was hit, lives here too," Cruz said.
According to police data, the number of shooting victims in the 40th precinct is down by more than 50%. Last year, there were 47 at this time. This year, there have been 22.
Still, neighbors say it's nothing to be proud of.
"It's really uncomfortable, because I soon as I got here, I'm like, something again? Because every tie we get here, every other, two months or three months, something has to happen," Mott have resident Miriam Gouem said.
Watch Christina Fan's report
Police say the 8-year-old was rushed to the hospital in stable condition.
His relieved mother spoke to CBS New York on the phone from his bedside.
"His wound is fine. He's going to survive. He's going to be able to walk. There's no torn tissue," she said. "He's moving. He's standing up on his own."
She says her son just got off the school bus Tuesday afternoon with his grandmother meeting him at the stop near his home.
"They were sitting there eating snacks and stuff, like, getting air," she said.
The pair heard a commotion nearby before the gunfire erupted.
"She just went down, like, pulled him down to the ground and hovered over him," the child's mother said.
Even with the grandmother shielding her grandson, one of the bullets hit the boy in the thigh.
"The person was still shooting, and she screamed and said, 'My grandbaby is shot, my grandbaby is shot,'" the child's mother said.
She says gun violence has now come too close to home.
"Something has to give. Something has to change. Having a gun is just so free nowadays that you can easily get your hands on one," she said.
The boy's mother says she's not sure exactly when her son will be discharged. He will require some therapy, but other than that, she's just so thankful she'll be taking him home soon.
Sources say the motive for the shooting is unclear but police are investigating if it's gang related.
