Flatbush Teen Arrested In Shooting Of 8-Year-Old Girl, Police Say

FLATBUSH, BROOKLYN — A Flatbush teenager was charged with attempted murder for his involvement in the shooting of an 8-year-old girl in Canarsie, police said.

Tajay Richards, 16, stands accused of participating in the wild shootout on the corner of Flatlands Avenue and East 83rd Street that left an innocent 8-year-old girl with a gunshot wound on Feb. 26, police said.

The girl was riding a dollar van with her 43-year-old mother when she suddenly heard a bang and felt something pain on the back of her head, police said.

Outside, an argument between two groups of teenagers had become violent and erupted into a shootout, causing a stray bullet to hit the little girl around 5:30 p.m., police said.

Emergency responders rushed the girl to Brookdale Hospital where she was treated for non-life threatening injuries, said police.

Police mistakenly arrested an innocent 27-year-old man two days later, whom they released after surveillance footage proved he had been somewhere else during the shootout, the Daily News reported.

Investigators now believe Richards, who lives on New York Avenue in Flatbush, is one of six teenagers were responsible for the violent outburst, police said.

Richards was arrested at about 2:30 p.m. Monday afternoon and was awaiting arraignment in Brooklyn Criminal Court Tuesday morning, court records show.

Richards faces seven charges that include attempted murder, attempted criminally negligent homicide and assault, court records show.

Photos of suspects courtesy of the NYPD