Smile turn to sorrow
Shot Bx. tyke with slain dad
The Bronx dad killed in a shooting that wounded his 5year-old son flashed a big smile in this photo, which shows the two happily sharing time together.
It is one of several sweet snaps posted to Instagram of Jaquan Millien, 29, and his son, Omari. Users expressed their condolences in the comments section and wished Omari a “speedy recovery.”
Millien picked up Omari from school Tuesday, and a short time later got into a fight with a man inside the Butler Houses on Webster Avenue near East 170th Street in Clare- mont Village at about 4:40 p.m., cops said.
The shooter pulled a gun in a sixth-floor stairwell of a building in the housing complex where the family lives and blasted the child in the arm and his father in the stomach, police said.
Lt. Eric Dym, a plainclothes housing cop from Police Service Area 7, arrived on the scene and fashioned his belt into a tourniquet on the boy’s arm, authorities said.
“He was very calm. I was rubbing his head, telling him he would be OK. I was amazed by his bravery,” said Dym, a former Marine.
The child was hospitalized and is expected to survive. Millien was taken to BronxLebanon Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The gunman remains at large.
“Gun violence is never tolerated in our city,” NYPD Chief of Housing James Secreto said. “It’s especially troubling when it’s fatal and when it involves a young innocent child.”
Bronx City Councilwoman Vanessa Gibson commented Wednesday on the tragedy via Twitter.
“Really heartbroken to know a young father and his son were both shot Tuesday afternoon at @NYCHA Butler Houses. Unfortunately the 29 year old succumbed to his injuries. His 5 year old son sustained injuries and will be okay. Thank God. Thankful for the residents who called,” Gibson said.
In another tweet, Gibson thanked the police officers who responded to the scene.
“Thank You to the PO’s on the ground who responded so swiftly to save the life of a child shot senselessly while with his father. Awful! The investigation is underway to determine the facts and identify those responsible for this heinous act of violence!”
Meanwhile, a makeshift memorial outside the family’s apartment was growing.