Family and friends are mourning the loss of Dowayne Henry, shot to death on his front porch in Queens, early Monday (May 26). Another man was hit in the back during the incident but is expected to survive.
Henry, who had dreams of becoming a pro basketball player, was shot in the head and abdomen and pronounced dead on the scene. The 20-year-old worked as an assistant preschool teacher and a shoe salesman. He and others were celebrating the Memorial Day weekend with a BBQ, before the gunman opened fire. Neither he nor the second victim had criminal records.
From the New York Daily News:
Dowayne Henry, 20, was at his family’s Springfield Gardens home with two other men around 1:30 a.m. when a gunman opened fire, cops said.
Henry, who worked as a preschool teacher and as a salesman at the Champs Sports at Green Acres Mall in Valley Stream, was hit in the stomach and head, cops said.
“Oh my God, it’s sad,” said Leah Sivells, 19, who also works at the sporting goods store. “He was the hardest worker I knew and so strong. I just saw him yesterday.”
A 25-year-old man was struck in the back and taken to Jamaica Hospital in stable condition. Police were hunting for the gunman, who was wearing a gray hoodie.
Family members said the 6-foot-2, 180-pound Henry doted on a toddler niece and had big dreams on the basketball court.
“Most important to him was basketball,” said Andrew Douglas, 49, Henry’s uncle. “That was his life. He loved it.”
His uncle said he heard that the shooting might have been over some fancy Michael Jordan kicks Henry was wearing. Cops were unable to confirm the motive.
Henry’s older sister, Kimberlyn Leslie, described him as a “funny” and “caring person” working to pay for school. “He was saving up to have enough money to go back to school,” Leslie said.
A Facebook page has been created in Henry’s honor.
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Photo: Facebook
