Woman shot 8 times after confronting neighbor over fireworks, New York cops say
A New York City woman was gunned down three days after confronting a neighbor who was setting off illegal fireworks on the Fourth of July, according to police.
Shatavia Walls, 33, died from her injuries on July 17, police said.
Walls had asked the man to stop shooting fireworks in a courtyard at the Pink Houses in East New York, the New York Daily News reported. Relatives allege Walls was targeted and shot eight times on July 7, according to the Daily News.
The suspect remains at large, police said.
“Upon arrival, officers discovered two individuals shot; victim #1, a 33-year-old female was shot in the chest and taken to Brookdale Hospital, where she was pronounced deceased on Friday, July 17, 2020,” according to an NYPD release sent to McClatchy News.
A 30-year-old man was also injured in the shooting and transported to the hospital in stable condition, police said.
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Walls’ mother, Helen Testagrose, recalled the night her daughter was gunned down.
“I had seen her on the floor and she was laying there, and she said to me, ‘Ma I don’t think I’m going to make it,’ “ Testagrose told the Daily News. “She was on the floor. She was talking to me. She was telling me who shot her, saying it was the same guy from the other day.”
Her mother said she believes her daughter’s killer is a local gang member, according to the newspaper.
Walls had heeded the advice of Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams who, in a statement last month, urged residents to “go talk to the young people or the people on your block who are using fireworks” instead of calling the cops, the New York Post reported.
Adams has said lighting illegal fireworks is a “non-violent act” that should be handled as such, according to the newspaper.
Family members said Walls was concerned for the safety of neighborhood kids, who weren’t far from where the man and his friends were setting off fireworks.
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“The kids were playing right there in the park,” her mother told the New York Post. “And they were shooting near the kids. And the little girl was hysterical. That’s why she asked them to stop.”
So far, no arrests have been made and police say the shooting remains under investigation, according to the release.
Adams revisited his advice in a new statement Saturday and addressed Walls’ killing.
“If a situation escalates to the point where someone is becoming disrespectful or violent, the police should be called,” he said, the Post reported. “We can never and will never condone any form of violence. The person who shot Ms. Walls must be found and held criminally responsible.”
“My heart goes out to her and her entire family on this horrific incident,” Adams added.
