Ma’s joy turns to pain

Can’t understand why loving son was fatally shot at deli

A teenager shot dead in a Brooklyn deli was a community-minded college freshman who lived in the moment and appreciated life, his mother said Thursday.

Sherard Jamie McKoy’s mother often worried about her son’s safety — but never imagined her only child would be killed in an East New York sandwich shop.

“I always said you have to be so careful because of the cruel world we live in,” Ivy Bolling said of her son. “He never asked me for anything, but I always wanted to give him things because he loved surprises.”

Cops said the 18-year-old student was inside the Rayen Lite Deli at the corner of New Lots and Alabama Aves. in East New York about 6:10 p.m. on Oct. 28 when a gunman burst in and opened fire.

It was unclear whom the gunman was targeting, cops said.

The teen was hit in the chest. Medics rushed him to Brookdale University Hospital, where he died.

The gunman ran off. No arrests have been made.

On the day he was shot, McKoy (photo) told his mother he was going to Starrett City. Bolling said she didn’t know how he got off track and ended up in the deli.

Bolling was a doting mom who was active in her son’s life and would always worry about his safety. They would communicate often, and McKoy would text his mother exactly where he was going. She said they had a special relationship, and he taught her to always live in the moment and appreciate life.

“He was really an open-minded type of person and he was so genuine,” Bolling said. “You really don’t see that in this generation today. ... He made me really proud. For my son’s life to be wiped out so soon for no reason just hurts.”

McKoy always loved his birthday, July 27, and would celebrate it like an actual holiday. Bolling said she would always try to help him outdo what they did the year before.

The entire family loved going places and traveling. They wanted to go to Paris for his birthday this year, but canceled the trip after the coronavirus pandemic struck.

McKoy volunteered for a local tennis team and was a part of an NYPD basketball tournament team, his mom said.

Bolling said her son was very religious and went to school until seventh

Christian grade.

“Me and my son had a beautiful relationship,” Bolling said. “When you saw me you saw him.”

“I feel like I’m in a dream and I’m waiting to wake up,” she added. “I have a loss of identity without my son.”