Queens teen Claudia Quatey is brain-dead after being caught in the crossfire when she was shot in the head on May 10.
Quaatey’s father, Albert Quatey, is with his daughter at Jamaica Hospital in Richmond Hill, Queens.
According to the New York Daily News, the teen and her friends were involved in a fight with another group of friends at Locust Manor Playground, which is a short walk from the Jackie Robinson School in St. Albans or Public School 15 in Queens.
However, ABC New York reported that the 16-year-old, who “did not appear to be the intended target and had no criminal record,” had nothing to do with the two groups shooting at each other.
Sources say a gunman opened fire on the teen as he sat in a parked Hyundai SUV in front of the school. The bullet that struck Claudia around 8:30 p.m. left a hole in the SUV.
A witness who told the Daily News he was watching the Knicks play the Miami Heats when the shooting occurred said he heard about five shots.
”It was the middle of the second quarter and shots just rang out,” a 50-year-old man who goes by Paul B. said. ”Sounded like five shots.”
Paul B’s statement is also consistent with another witness named Jillian McKoy who was nearby the shooting when searching for her car key.
“I heard about 5 to 10 shots, like really close, like pop, pop, pop, pop, just back to back to back,” she said.
About 40 children ran out of the park, McKoy recalled.
“Children running out of the park screaming, ‘Oh my God, why did they do that, they’re shooting, why did they do that to her.’ I thought it was fireworks. Once they came running I realized it was a shooting.”
”Next thing you know, in two minutes, every cop from 113th Precinct came in every direction,” McKoy said. ”The whole park cleared.”
Claudia’s shooter is still at large, with Queens police saying she was an innocent bystander.
