Shooting A 6-Year-Old Will Send 2 Yonkers Teenagers To Prison

YONKERS, NY — Two Yonkers teens who engaged in a gunfight on a Yonkers street were sentenced for shooting a six-year-old bystander in the chest, Westchester County District Attorney Miriam Rocah announced Wednesday.

On March 29, an 18-year-old was sentenced to 10 years in state prison, with five years of post-release supervision. A 16-year-old juvenile co-offender was sentenced to 3 to 9 years in state prison.

Both defendants pled guilty to felony assault in the first degree.

"An innocent young child was left in critical condition after being shot by these two defendants who opened fire on a city street,” Rocah said. “There is no place for gun violence in Westchester County and we will continue to hold those who commit acts of violence such as this accountable to the fullest extent possible under the law. We are grateful the victim survived and we hope these sentences bring an additional measure of healing to the victim and his family."

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On April 29, 2021, at approximately 6:03 p.m., the defendants each fired multiple shots at two intended targets striking the six-year-old playing on his front porch in the chest instead. The shooting resulted in the victim suffering a punctured left lung, two rib fractures and a small splenic laceration. The victim was rushed to Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx, where he underwent life-saving surgery.

The Yonkers Police Department arrested the two teenagers shortly after the incident.

"As a parent it's despicable," Yonkers Police commissioner John Mueller said at the time. "It's disgusting. It's horrible. You know, this is what we're up against right now."