NYPD: Suspect facing charges in shooting of 8-year-old boy in the Bronx
NEW YORK -- A 27-year-old man is facing charges this morning in the shooting of an 8-year-old boy Tuesday afternoon in the Bronx.
Police said Joshua Brooks was charged overnight with attempted murder, felony assault, reckless endangerment and criminal possession of a weapon.
Sources told CBS New York the child was getting off a school bus when he was struck. He was hospitalized in stable condition, recovering after he was hit in the thigh.
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Detectives spent Tuesday evening combing Beekman Avenue in Mott Haven for evidence after shots rang out in front of 328 Beekman just after 5 p.m.
"Boom, boom, boom, three of them, yeah," bodega worker Ali Yemen said, describing the gunfire. "I heard three shots here because a lot of customers on the line, you know. I go to the basement. I'm scared."
Caught in the crossfire was the 8-year-old.
"Gentlemen 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.
Witnesses said the boy's family put him in a car right away and took him to Lincoln Hospital.
"He was scared. The father, he take him to the hospital," Yemen said.
Sources said the motive for the shots is unclear, but police are investigating if the violence was gang related.
Meanwhile, neighbors said more needs to be done, because gun violence on the block is out of control.
"I'm fearful. I'm scared. I'm scared for my grandkids," one resident said. "There's no resources."
Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson took to X, the social media site formerly known as Twitter, and posted "SMH. We have to do better."
According to NYPD data obtained by CBS New York, shooting victims are down in the 40th Precinct by more than 50%. So far this year there have been 22, compared to this time last year there were already 47.
