Photo courtesy of Dexia Billingslea via GoFundMe
A GoFundMe page has been set-up to support the family of fatal gun violence victim, Prince Shabazz 14, who, as reported, was fatally shot in Fordham Heights on Wednesday, Nov 30.
As reported, police spokesperson said the incident occurred at around 9.15 p.m. when officers from the 46th Precinct responded to a 911 call regarding a male who had been shot in front of 2249 Morris Avenue. “Upon arrival, officers observed a 14-year-old male [with] a gunshot wound to the torso,” the spokesperson said. “EMS responded and transported the victim to St. Barnabas Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased.”
An unnamed, 17-year-old girl has been arrested on murder and other charges so far in connection with the case, as reported, but police said the investigation is ongoing. As reported, the police released a video of the shooting and are appealing to the public for help identifying the perpetrators.
The deceased was later identified as Prince Shabazz, of East Tremont in Mt. Hope.
TheGoFundMe page can be visited: here. It was created by Dexia Billingslea and reads, “My name is Dexia and my son, Prince Shabazz, was brutally shot and killed on Nov 30th in The Bronx, walking down the street with his brother. My son was a talented artist who drew and created his own cartoon characters. He also loved to cook and play basketball. Prince was always cheerful and thoughtful. His infectious smile warmed your heart and made you feel welcomed.”
THE NYPD IS asking for the public’s help identifying the two people seen in the attached video and photo who are sought for questioning in connection to the fatal shooting on Nov. 30, 2022 in Fordham Heights of 14-year-old Prince Shabazz, of East Tremont in Mt. Hope. Video courtesy of the NYPD
It continued, “Prince was the second born of seven children, and he loved caring for, cooking, and playing with his siblings. Anyone who met him fell in love with him. I’m starting this go fund me to cover all memorial expenses and relocation expenses. Anything would be appreciated in this time of grief.”
District 14 City Councilwoman Pierina Sanchez wrote of the tragedy on Dec. 3, “There can be no greater pain than losing your child. Our community is grieving the loss of a 14-year-old boy. I will continue to fight every day to hold my colleagues accountable, and bring the resources we have been deprived of, directly to our community. We are here for you.”
She had previously written on Dec. 1, “We’re fighting for housing, jobs, opportunities so our kids & families have a chance at living with stability. Even as fight, the cancer that is gun violence continues to rip through our community. We lost a young boy yesterday, just 14 years old.”
She continued, “I learned the news from @NYPD46Pct at 3 a.m. while breastfeeding my own little one. This hurts. My most heartfelt condolences go to this family. He should still be with us, but he is gone. Losing our kids is at stake with inaction on inequality. We need guns off our streets & we need to address the root causes of this violence: deep poverty & inequality that keeps us unhoused, unemployed & unfed causing a spiral of stress & poor health manifesting in violence.”
The councilwoman concluded, “No one can tell me there isn’t enough money for universal after-school, for vocational training that lead to good paying jobs with benefits, for deeply affordable housing. No one can tell me this city and country can’t afford the most robust safety net without admitting you don’t care about the hood. Join in the fight to reorient how we think about and act on social justice. Enough is enough.”
Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, together with the CEO of Amalgamated Bank, is pushing for the implementation of a new method to enforce anti-gun trafficking provisions. Gillibrand held a press conference in Manhattan on Sunday, Dec. 4, and called for the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to help implement a new merchant category code for purchases from firearm retailers, including working with financial institutions to publish an advisory regarding the reporting of suspicious activity relating to firearm purchases.
Merchant category codes (MCCs) are four-digit codes assigned to credit card transactions that identify the primary purpose of the retailer. Until recently, gun and ammunition retailers did not have a unique MCC, making it difficult for financial institutions to recognize and report suspicious activity related to purchases from those stores.
Gillibrand is urging the immediate implementation of the newly created MCC for gun and ammunition retailers, and that all necessary support and resources be provided to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the relevant DOJ entities to assist with the implementation.
The senator believes that the utilization of the new MCC for gun and ammunition retailers will aid in enforcing the anti-gun trafficking provisions from her Hadiya Pendleton and Nyasia Pryear-Yard Gun Trafficking and Crime Prevention Act that were included in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act that passed earlier this year.
As also reported, a lawsuit has been filed, challenging part of New York State’s gun reform package, signed into law earlier this year. State law, A.7583-A, which took effect Friday, Dec. 3, requires social media networks to provide and maintain mechanisms for reporting hateful conduct on their platforms and to disclose how they respond to such reports.
Bloomberg has reported the law has been challenged by the Volokh Conspiracy legal blog and the Peter Thiel-backed video site, Rumble Inc., which, Bloomberg reports, claims the law will hurt online services and seek to silence unfavorable but constitutionally protected expression.
Year-to-date shooting incidents (376) and shooting victims (441) in The Bronx are down by roughly 20 percent compared to last year’s 471 incidents and 559 victims according to the NYPD.
In the 46th Precinct which covers the neighborhoods of year-to-date shooting incidents (35) and shooting victims (40) in The Bronx are also down compared to last year’s 39 shooting incidents and 42 shooting victims according to the NYPD.
Overall index crime in New York City decreased in November 2022 by 1.2% compared with November 2021 (10,196 v. 10,323) according to the NYPD. Three of the seven major index-crime categories saw decreases, driven by a 14.1% decrease in rape (110 v. 128), a 6.0% decrease in burglary (1,231 v. 1,310), and a 5.5% decrease in grand larceny (4,187 v. 4,430).
A police spokesperson said of the latest gun crime stats, “As the NYPD works to reduce shootings in every New York City neighborhood, its attention remains on preventing people from ever becoming victims of gun violence. The proliferation of illegal guns on the city’s streets is an ongoing challenge, but the department’s strategies to fight this scourge continue to take hold.”
The spokesperson continued, “Gun arrests citywide are at a 27-year high, and increased another 3.9% (4319 v. 4155) year-to-date, with significant increases in Queens and the Bronx. These arrests have resulted in 6,638 guns seized citywide so far in 2022. These seizures include 356 ghost guns, which is a 76% increase compared with the 202 ghost guns seized by the department in the same period of 2021.”
They concluded, “Most importantly, this work has led to a 34.3% (92 v. 140) reduction of shooting victims across the city for the month of November 2022 compared to the same period last year. Year-to-date, shooting victims have declined by 15.2% (1465 v. 1728), which means 263 fewer people have been victims of gun violence this year than last – representing lives saved, families kept intact, and safer neighborhoods for all.”
Police Commissioner Keechant L. Sewell said, “Every day, the NYPD’s singular focus is the safety and wellbeing of every resident, commuter, and visitor in our great city. As we near the end of this year, our department is seeing substantial, tangible progress toward our public-safety goals – and that is because of the dedicated work of our exceptional officers and civilian members.”
She added, “The women and men of the NYPD have continued to reduce shootings, take illegal guns off our streets, increase arrests to bring justice for crime victims, and improve police-community relationships in every New York City neighborhood. Their work has yielded positive results, with major crime down in the month of November 2022 compared to the same period last year.”
She concluded, “Additionally, as we enter the second full month of our Transit Safety Awareness Campaign, major crime in our transit system has begun to decline – a strong indication that our officers and strategies are making a real difference in the everyday lives of New Yorkers. We will continue these collective efforts, always working toward one objective: the safety of all the people we serve.”
A person arrested in connection to a crime is deemed innocent unless and until convicted in a court of law.
Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at https://crimestoppers.
All calls are strictly confidential.
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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.
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