1-Year-Old Shot, Killed in Brooklyn: Second Toddler to Die in Neighborhood
A one-year-old boy was shot and killed during a Sunday evening walk with his parents in Brooklyn. Police have made no arrests but believe that the bullet was actually intended for the boy's father, who was unharmed.
Antiq Hennis died shortly before 9:00 p.m. last night after being rushed to Brookdale University Hospital with a bullet hole in the left side of his head. The toddler had been out for a walk with his parents and was shot just one block away from his home.
"He was screaming, 'My baby got shot,'" eyewitness Gina Gamboa told the New York Daily News. "The baby was breathing, but his eyes were closed. It's crazy. They just will start shooting. I heard three to four shots."
Bishop Willie Billops of the Church of Faith, Hope and Charity took the boy's parents to identify their son's body at the hospital.
"It was horrible," Billops told the New York Post. "I'm furious at what happened. I'm outraged at the murder of a one-year-old baby. I grew up in this neighborhood and I've seen a lot – but this is the worst. I'm sick of what's happening in this neighborhood."
Anthony Hennis, Antiq's father, may have been the intended target, according to police. He has a long history of criminal activity, including 20 arrests in New York and Pennsylvania for possession of weapons, narcotics, assault, and car theft.
Antiq's death has left the family and community devastated, given that it is the second death of a child in the Brooklyn area. Tharell Edward was also shot in the head while he slept in his crib in late August. Police did make an arrest in that case, a family friend who had a criminal history.
"He was just starting to learn how to walk," Chris Dovsen, Antiq's uncle, told the Post. "He was just getting the hang of it. And now this happened. Just yesterday he was playing with a basketball."
An investigation into the shooting is ongoing, and police are keeping their findings quiet until more details are known.
