Teen’s gift of life
Parents donating organs of 15-yr.-old fatally shot by bro
A 15-year-old boy shot in the head by his older brother in the family’s Staten Island home died of his wounds — but not before giving the gift of life to several strangers, police sources said Tuesday.
After he was declared brain-dead the day after he was shot in the head in his Stapleton home, doctors fulfilled his parents’ wishes that his organs be harvested and donated, a police source said.
Cops called to the apartment on Thompson St. near Bay St. at 11:50 p.m. on Feb. 17 found Steven Estevez on the floor with a gunshot wound to the head.
Detectives initially theorized Steven had taken his own life, but within a few hours his 17-year-old brother admitted to cops he shot his sibling, but he claimed he pulled the trigger “by accident,” a high-ranking NYPD source said.
The teen said he was playing with the handgun when it went off, and Steven dropped to the floor.
Two other teens were in the apartment, but no adults were there, a police source said.
Medics rushed Steven to Richmond University Medical Center. He was declared brain-dead the next day but remained on life support until Feb. 20 so his organs could be harvested, sources said.
The victim’s older brother was arrested for assault and weapon possession. His name has not been released by the NYPD because he is a juvenile.
The brother was ordered held without bail during a brief arraignment proceeding in Staten Island Criminal Court on Friday.
Steven’s family hasn’t returned to their home since the shooting, the building superintendent told the Daily News on Tuesday.
Classmates from Ralph R. McKee Career and Technical Education High School made a makeshift memorial with votive candles for Steven outside his home. Steven was on the varsity football team at the school, according to the Staten Island Advance. “#Forever15,” one classmate wrote. “Rest easy, baby boy,” mourner Khyie wrote.
The city medical examiner deemed Steven’s death a homicide on Monday.
The Staten Island district attorney’s office is bringing the case against the brother to a grand jury this week, a source said.
Depending on how the grand jury weighs the evidence, the sibling could face anything from reckless endangerment to manslaughter to murder charges, the source said.
It was not immediately clear how the older brother got his hands on the gun.
It didn’t belong to his parents, the source said.
The teen is being represented by the Legal Aid Society, which called the shooting an “incredibly tragic case.”
“Out of respect for our client, his family and community, we ask the public to refrain from drawing hasty conclusions and to respect the family’s privacy during this extraordinarily difficult time of mourning,” a Legal Aid spokesman said.
“We will have more to say about this case in the coming days, weeks and months after a thorough review and investigation.”
So far this year, 49 people citywide have been the victim of a homicide, according to NYPD data through Feb 19.
The figure is a downtick from the corresponding time period last year, which saw 56 people killed.
Across the city, 149 people have been shot this year through Feb. 19, compared with 173 victims by this time last year, a 14% drop.
The city has seen a troubling upward trend in shooting victims younger than 18 over the past several years, according to NYPD data.
Last year, 153 children were hit by gunfire citywide. The number has consistently increased since 2017, when 75 juveniles fell victim to gun violence.