Teen Charged As An Adult, Held Without Bail For Attempted Murder In J'ouvert Shooting

Photo by Bill Oxford on Unsplash

CROWN HEIGHTS – A 16-year-old boy was indicted and charged as an adult for attempted murder for a shooting that injured six people including a seven-year-old boy during an unofficial J’Ouvert celebration last month.

On September 7 at around 2:44 a.m., Donovan Bailey, who wasn’t yet 16 at the time, allegedly fired a gun into a crowd of people that had gathered for an unofficial J’Ouvert celebration near the corner of Nostrand Avenue and Crown Street. Six people were wounded in the shooting and were taken to Health + Hospitals Kings County. Four of them were shot in the leg, including a seven-year-old boy whose femur broke. Two of the people were shot in the foot.

According to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office, video surveillance showed a silver vehicle pull up to Crown Street about five minutes before the shooting. The surveillance footage also allegedly shows Bailey walking south on Nostrand Avenue with a large procession for several blocks and firing a weapon into a crowd before entering the back-passenger side of the silver vehicle and fleeing the scene.

The young man was arrested about twenty minutes after the shooting. Cops found a loaded .40 caliber pistol with an extended magazine in his fanny pack, which matched shell casings recovered at the scene.

Bailey, a teenager from Flatbush, was arraigned on a 16-count indictment and charged as an adult with second-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault, second-degree assault, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, and related charges. He was ordered held without bail and will return to court on November 17.

“This defendant allegedly opened fire into a crowd, disrupting a community celebration while showing complete disregard for the devastation he might cause,” Brooklyn DA Eric Gonzalez said. “It is fortunate that no one was killed as a result of his senseless actions. We remain committed to prosecuting gun violence and will now seek to hold this defendant accountable.”