Twelve-year-old shot in NYC building lobby while group played with gun, police say

(NEW YORK) — A young man playing with a gun pointed it at a 12-year-old boy and opened fire, shooting him in the lobby of a Brooklyn apartment building, police said.

The boy was shot in the left shoulder at the apartment building in the Brownsville neighborhood just before 9:20 p.m. Tuesday, police said.

He was rushed to Maimonides Medical Center in stable condition and is expected to survive.

A group of eight to 12 youths were “playing or hanging out” in the lobby of the apartment building when the incident occurred, according to police.

The youths were reportedly playing with a gun when, based on video or witness accounts, detectives believe one of them removed a magazine from the firearm, pointed it at the victim and pulled the trigger.

“That’s the way the investigation is leaning right now. He takes out the magazine, there is one still in the chamber. He points it, fires and according to witnesses, they say ‘what did you do. what did you do,”’ NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig said.

There were no prior disputes or arguments prior to this incident, Essig said. Police recovered one .380 shell casing and a .380 Smith & Wesson firearm at the scene, he said.

The group scattered after the shot was fired, dropping the weapon behind, Essig said.

No arrests were immediately made. Detectives are pleading for the public’s help to find the suspect who shot the 12-year-old.

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