Kid-shoot susp, 15, also eyed in ’19 slay
The teen gunman busted for allegedly blasting a 6-year-old boy and five others at the annual J’Ouvert celebration was identified by police Wednesday as a suspect in a Brooklyn homicide one year ago.
Donovan Bailey, 15, faces five counts of attempted murder along with felony assault and weapon possession charges in the 2:54 a.m. Monday shooting near Nostrand Ave. and Crown St. in Crown Heights.
A .40-caliber gun used in the multiple shooting was found in the suspect’s fanny pack, said cops.
The same type of gun was used in a Sept. 5, 2019, murder in the 67th Precinct, which covers East Flatbush — and Bailey is now emerging as the possible killer, cops said.
The teen suspect was captured on surveillance video when he jumped out of a car and opened fire on Monday morning.
He had multiple prior arrests that might have landed him in detention and prevented the shootings on Monday, said NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea. The eight arrests on his rap sheet include four robbery busts along with charges for car theft and misdemeanor assault.
“Nobody wants to lock up a 15-yearold kid and throw away the key,” said Shea. “Nobody wants a 15-year-old kid that’s on the street at two in the morning with a gun shooting into a crowd. How do we have that middle ground where … we’re comfortable the consequences are appropriate?”
Bailey was charged as an adult and ordered held without bail Tuesday during a brief Brooklyn Criminal Court arraignment.
“He’s just really heading in the wrong direction,” said Chief of Detectives Rodney Harrison. “This is a very problematic individual.”
Bailey’s immediate family spurned a reporter Wednesday at their apartment.
“He’s 15-years-old, right?” said a man who answered the door knock. “No media should be involved. “
The boy’s grandfather told the Daily News said that the suspect’s 16th birthday was this coming Tuesday.
“I don’t control him,” said the grandfather, who declined to give his name. “His mother and his father control him.”
The teen suspect was wearing a white-and-gray hoodie, distressed jeans and carrying a fanny pack when he was caught on surveillance video opening fire into the crowd, according to court papers. He fled the scene in a silver-colored vehicle.
Surveillance cameras tracked the fleeing auto for six blocks. Bailey exited the car and changed into a blue hoodie moments before he was picked up by cops. Forensics experts linked the gun recovered from Bailey to the slugs found on the scene, court papers say.
Bailey was initially charged with weapon possession. The charges were upgraded once the video and ballistic evidence established him as the alleged shooter, cops said.
A 6-year-old victim was shot in both legs, and needed surgery because a bullet shattered his femur, said his mother Patricia Brathwaite. The 47-year-old mom and a 40-year-old man were both shot in the left foot, while a 45-year-old man and a 34-year-old man were each hit in their right leg, cops said.
A sixth victim who suffered a graze wound to his right ankle emerged Tuesday, said Harrison. The injured man at first tried to treat himself himself, but sought medical attention Tuesday when the wound became infected, the chief of detectives said.
All the victims were expected to recover.
J’Ouvert was officially canceled this year due the pandemic, as was the New York Caribbean Carnival Parade that traditionally follows. But some revelers still took to the streets.