STATEN ISLAND, New York (WABC) — A teenage boy was rushed to the hospital after being shot in the head on Staten Island on Friday.
The boy, 13, was shot just before 4 p.m. outside the Stapleton Houses located at Warren Street and Gordon Street.
He was part of a group of young individuals who were hanging out by the basketball courts at Reverend Dr. Maggie Howard Playground when shots rang out, striking him in the head, according to police sources.
He was taken to Richmond University Medical Center where he remains in critical condition.
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At this time police are looking for one suspect who fired at least two shots into the group.
Newscopter 7 was high above the scene where it captured the frantic search for that gunman outside the Stapleton Houses.
Investigators initially believed the suspect fled into a nearby building. But the search so far has come up empty.
The male suspect is described as 15-18 years old, about 5’7”, and 120 pounds.
Eyewitness News reporter CeFaan Kim spoke to a man from a violence prevention program who knew the victim.
“A shooting at this time of the day clearly illustrates the magnitude of the situation,” Malcolm Penn said.
He said the teen is an 8th grader who attends the Eagle Academy charter school, right next to where the shooting took place.
Penn said the victim was one of the students in the violence prevention program.
“Just a bright energetic kid from the community,” he said. “Just full of life. It’s just sad man. It’s a sad situation.”
The man described the teen as an “energetic kid” not known for getting into trouble.
Whether the victim was the intended target of the shooting and what, if anything, led to the shooting remains under investigation.
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