A 15 year old boy was shot in the head and killed inside an apartment in the Kingsbridge Heights section of the Bronx, and police say they are now investigating the case as a homicide. A second teenager was also wounded, deepening concern over gun violence involving young people in the borough.
The shooting happened just before 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday inside a fifth floor apartment on Claflin Avenue. According to police, officers responded to the scene and found the 15 year old, identified by relatives as Riley Billingsley, already dead from a gunshot wound to the head.
A 13 year old boy was also caught in the gunfire, suffering a graze wound to the torso. He was rushed to St. Barnabas Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition and is expected to survive, leaving him as a key witness to what unfolded inside the apartment.
Investigators believe the shooting grew out of an argument. According to police, the 13 year old told them that the older teen and Billingsley had been in a dispute, and that the suspect then pulled a gun out of his backpack and shot Billingsley in the head at close range.
Police are now searching for a 16 year old described as the alleged gunman, who fled the building after the shooting. As of Thursday, no arrests had been made, and the weapon used in the killing had not been recovered, leaving the investigation ongoing.
The killing marked the second time in a single week that a teenager was found fatally shot inside a Bronx apartment. On Monday, 16 year old John Nunez was also shot in the head and died, and officials note that at least nine New York City minors under the age of 18 have been killed so far this year.
Relatives described the 15 year old as a promising young man who was attending a military academy and hoped one day to become an engineer. His grieving family made a direct appeal to the public, urging anyone with knowledge of what happened to come forward and help investigators understand how the argument turned deadly.