A 12-year-old is facing several charges for allegedly killing his 14-year-old cousin with a firearm in Brooklyn, an incident that police say is the result of an accident. The boy, whose name is not being disclosed due to his age, is being charged with manslaughter, criminal possession of a weapon, and criminally negligent homicide.
Police sources reported to CBS that the shooting occurred around 10:30 a.m. on Sunday inside Brownsville’s Howard Houses. There is no information pertaining to how the cousins came into possession of the gun that was involved.
Jasai Guy, the 14-year-old victim, was shot in the chest and killed. Jasai’s grandparents were home at the time of the shooting, police said. His father works as an FDNY firefighter but was out of state on vacation when the incident took place. People of the neighborhood were left shocked and devastated by Jasai’s death. “He was well raised. He was well mannered. He had manners. He went to school every day, when he’d leave school, he’d come straight home,” said Romonia Singleton, a resident of the area.
According to city data, Jasai is the 13th person to have been killed in this precinct within the last year. “Unfortunately, this is a dilemma that we’re dealing with and facing and we have to somehow figure it out,” said Pastor James Nicholson, of Brownsville. “As a pastor and a community leader, we really have to focus on, I think, it starts with the family dynamic and we have to get these families strong.”
Veyonte Borden lived in the neighborhood and was friends with Jasai. “It still doesn’t feel real. I wish this was a bad dream,” he said. “He was really funny. He was my rival in basketball. He was really tough.”
Family, friends, and neighbors have now set up a memorial outside 80 Osborn Street in Brooklyn, where the shooting took place.
