Gun violence in Brooklyn has left an 11-year-old girl paralyzed after a shooting Friday (May 31) night. Tayloni Mazyck was hit in the neck walking outside her apartment in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
Although there’s a possibility that she may never walk again, doctor’s are not yet sure if the paralysis will be permanent. Mazyck’s is being treated at New York’s Presbyterian hospital, and underwent surgery to remove the bullet Saturday (June 1).
She was waiting for her aunt to pick her up at around 8:30 p.m. Friday when gun fire erupted outside the doors of the apartment building. “I had her with me since she was a baby,” said aunt Michelle Fitzpatrick, who was running late picking the girl up at the time of the incident. “She was just a joy to be around, full of life and energy. Now she is never going to be the same.”
Mazyck, her mother, and Fitzpatrick’s 7-month-old grandchild were all in front the apartment at the time of the shooting, but she was the only one injured. “Why, why my little sister,” her 15-year-old brother tearfully asked over the weekend. “Why the baby? It didn’t have to be her. With her I don’t know where I would be. I love my little sister.”
She is set to graduate from the fifth grade later this month.
17-year-old Kane Cooper has been arrested for the shooting. Police were able to nab him through surveillance footage.
Cooper –who lives less than a block away from the victim– is charged with attempted murder, criminal use of a firearm, assault, and reckless endangerment. His motive, or intended target, have not yet been revealed.
The teen remains in custody and was arraigned Saturday. His next court date is scheduled for June 5.
—
Photo: NBC NY
