A six-year-old boy who was hit by gunfire in Brooklyn on Monday has his femur bone completely shattered. The boy was among the five people injured in a shooting that occurred during a J'Ourvet celebration that has often been marred by violence. The shooting happened just a few meters away from where the actual celebrations were taking place.
Although police believe the shooting to be gang-related, it's unknown who was the intended target. The J'ouvert celebration was supposed to be a virtual affair this year, but hundreds still took to the streets overnight, leading to the wild and reckless shooting.
Innocent Victim
Maxwell Cesc-Dinho and his mother 47-year-old Patricia Brathwaite were getting out of a cab when two people started shooting into a crowd that was gathered around a small party in front of a house. The chaos took place near the intersection of Crown Street and Nostrand Avenue.
Crowds gathered at the shooting scene immediately after the shooting. However, Cesc-Dinho wasn't the only victim. Three men and a woman, confirmed by Brathwaite, were also shot. "The bullet went through both legs," Brathwaite said of her son's injuries. "One leg it hit just muscle, but the other leg it shattered his bone, his femur bone."
Naturally, Brathwaite is too traumatized given that the attack could have been fatal. Police is still investigating the incident and two people, a 21-year-old and a 15-year-old, were taken into custody at the scene for having guns on them, but it's unclear if they were responsible for the shooting.
Narrow Escape
According to authorities, Cesc-Dinho was recovering from surgery at Kings County Hospital to repair the shattered femur bone. His mother confirmed that Cesc-Dinho is doing well now but the incident could have been worse. Brathwaite added that both Maxwell and she avoided worse injuries because the bullets did not strike any of their arteries. "The bullet went straight through my foot," she said of her injury.
J'Ourvet, a celebration of West Indian heritage that takes place before dawn followed by the West Indian Day Parade on Labor Day in New York, was canceled this year because of the coronavirus pandemic. However, people had come out for the celebrations, when the incident took place. "More than likely, the people shot were not the intended targets," said a law enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation, adding that the area has experienced heavy gang activity.
Shootings have been on the rise in New York City since the start of the summer, driven mostly by gang activity related to turf battles and narcotics, NYPD officials have said. This was one of the primary reasons behind police flooding the festival area, despite fewer events.
