A 19-year-old New York City school worker is in critical condition after he was shot in the head Tuesday afternoon while leaving the elementary school he was working at.
The worker was about 400 feet away from the Brooklyn school when the the suspect opened fire from across the street just before 3 p.m. Tuesday, the New York City Police Department said.
The victim, who has not yet been identified, stumbled into a corner deli and collapsed before being taken to Brookdale Hospital, NBC New York reported. Police have not yet identified the victim.
As of early Wednesday morning, the NYPD said the victim remained in critical condition. The NYPD said no arrests had been made and an investigation into the incident remains ongoing.
Police said they believed the victim was targeted, but said the motive for the shooting was not immediately clear.
The victim’s union told NBC New York that he worked as a school paraprofessional for the Department of Education. They said the 19-year-old was working at P.S. 203 on Tuesday, but can be assigned to other schools as well.
“I am absolutely heartbroken and outraged that one of our dedicated employees was senselessly a victim of random gun violence,” Schools Chancellor David C. Banks said in a statement.
“Our educators, our students, and our families deserve better than living with the threat of gun violence,” he said, adding that he was in touch with the principal at P.S. 203 and would “ensure that the students have the counseling services they need as they grapple with this tragedy.” He also said he would be working with the NYPD to increase security around the school.
“This is a tragedy,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said in a tweet, responding to the deadly incident.
“The rivers of violence bringing guns into our communities didn’t begin in our city but they will end here. We will keep our city safe,” he said, urging residents with any information to contact the NYPD.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
