‘HE WAS A GOOD KID’
Slain B’klyn teen may have been mistaken for brother: cops
A Brooklyn teen pumped full of bullets in a savage slaying just steps from his home was possibly targeted by a killer gunning for his older brother, police sources said Saturday.
Samuel Joseph, 15, told his family he was heading out Friday night to get something to eat — and moments later was fatally shot near his home on Flatbush Ave. near 26th St. The son of Haitian immigrants was blasted in the face, neck and chest by one of two assailants as his terrified sister watched.
A police source with knowledge of the case said the gunman may have confused the boy, the youngest of eight, for his older teen brother, who lately was running with the wrong crowd.
“(Samuel) was not that bad,” the source said. “But he’s got an older brother who is.”
Cops on Saturday issued video and pictures of two of Samuel’s killers. Both are described as black and between 18 and 25 years old. One wore red Adidas sweatpants with white stripes.
The tragedy left his family reeling, with his inconsolable mother wailing outside their apartment, doubled over in agony and supported by family members to keep her from falling to the ground.
“We want justice,” said Samuel’s heartbroken brother Don Joseph. “We want justice for my mom so she could stop crying. He was just going to get some food.
“He was a good kid. He would go out and get groceries. He was that kind of kid.”
According to sources, the ruthless suspects were caught on video waiting outside the boy’s apartment at the time of the 5:45 p.m. attack. As Samuel stepped outside, one of the two pulled out a gun and opened fire. The teen’s sister was just a few feet away from Samuel, who was rushed to Kings County Hospital and died, police said.
The sister saw everything and was “traumatized and still a little flustered,” said Assembly member Rodenyse Bichotte (D-Brooklyn).
Devastated relatives and neighbors said the teenager, who moved to Brooklyn from Haiti about five years ago, enjoyed playing sports and was often seen shooting hoops down the block at a neighborhood YMCA. His parents arrived here five years earlier, making a home in the borough before bringing Samuel to join them.
“He was just a good kid. He was not a gang member,” Don Joseph added. “He was always laughing and had jokes.”
Friends said Samuel was recently been denied access to a nearby YMCA because he couldn’t afford a pass. If he had one, he wouldn’t have gotten shot, because he would have been playing ball, his teenage pals said.
“He wanted to be like (NBA star) Stephen Curry. He was a lot of fun,” one buddy recalled.
Longtime family friend Eliette Augustin said the teen’s mother is torn to pieces over her son’s murder.
“I just hope that whoever did this can be caught,” Augustin said. “He’s a kid that you can count on. He’s very respectful. It was always ‘Yes, Mommy’ and ‘Of course, Mommy.’
“He is full of life,” she remembered. “He loved his family, he was always with his sisters.”
A prayer vigil was held outside the family home, with relatives of the slain teen staying inside their apartment.
“Lord, give them the strength they need for justice, and grant the community the strength to move forward and end gun violence,” said community activist Farah Louis.
Supporters who stopped by the family’s home Saturday included public advocate candidate Tony Herbert and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, who said there has been an uptick in shootings this year.
“We’ve done an amazing job in the last 20 plus years of dealing with the issues of violence but . . . what do you say to a mother who lost her child at 15 years old?” asked Adams. “You can’t merely state that the crime is down or the crime is up. This is not a stat, this is an individual, it’s a young man that is no longer with us.
“No mother expects to have to bury their son, there’s nothing natural about that. People in the neighborhood who either saw something or saw someone fleeing the scene or hanging around the place should come forward.”