Two young girls were shot at a playground in Brooklyn Monday night, marking just the latest incident of gun violence impacting youth in the borough.
Cops responding to a call about a 9-year-old shot at Hilltop Playground on Dean Street in Brownsville around 9 p.m. found the girl with a leg wound. They also found an 11-year-old girl who had been shot in the back.
Melissa Alexander said her daughter, Ruanna Brown, and niece, Empress Alexander Davis, were having a fun night at the playground when the bullets started flying.
"They were just playing at the park, enjoying their little lives, you know. And here comes a knucklehead, here comes somebody, just — oh God. I’m sick, I’m sick. I’ve been talking all day, I’ve been crying all day," said Alexander.
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Alexander's daughter had a bullet go through her knee. Both girls were taken by private means to a hospital and are expected to be OK. Empress was still recovering at the hospital Tuesday evening while getting tests done.
"Everybody that was on the grass they were laying on the floor. The girl came out of nowhere, she said, 'I got shot.' She had blood running down her leg, I think her cousin she had blood on her shirt," said 13-year-old witness Zamaya. "I helped the girl that got shot in the leg, I helped her walk down the block."
Investigators say the girls are not believed to have been the intended targets. A preliminary investigation found there may have been two shooters who fired six rounds in the direction of the children, but it was not clear who may have been targeted.
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"My life is on the line if I go here. It’s like, kids are not supposed to worry about that," said Alexander, adding that her daughter has had nightmares since the incident. "She’s scared to go back outside, she’s scared to go to her favorite place, the park. What am I gonna tell her? What am I gonna do?"
The mother of 11-year-old Empress was watching from the park bench as the children were playing in the middle of the athletic field.
Five shell casings were recovered at the scene. Police were looking for any possible surveillance video to assist in their investigation.
No arrests have been made. The area where the two children were shot has seen an alarming increase in gun violence in 2024. According to NYPD data, shootings are up 50% compared to the same time frame in 2023 — while murders have more than tripled.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
