A 16-year-old boy was shot and injured in the Bronx late Sunday – just over an hour after another teen was gunned down in Queens by a crew who took off on a moped, cops and sources said.
The boy – who sources say has no prior arrests – was blasted in the right thigh just before 9 p.m. at the corner Bergen and Brook avenues in Melrose, a mixed residential and commercial block with apartments across the street from an Aldi and a Walgreens, police said.
The unidentified victim was taken to Lincoln Medical Center, where he was listed in stable condition.
No suspect description was immediately available for the suspect because the victim was uncooperative, according to police. The motive for the shooting remains unclear.
Earlier in the evening, Jean Rios, 19, was shot in the chest at 64th Road and Grand Central Parkway in Forest Hills, police said.
He was taken to NewYork Presbyterian-Queens Hospital, where he later died.
Three suspects wearing all red took off on a moped, sources said.
The motive for the shooting also remains under investigation – although the victim has previously been arrested on drug-related charges, according to sources.
The spate of deadly violence across the Big Apple came less than a week after a 13-year-old boy was tragically gunned down outside a Queens Dunkin’ Donuts – prompting Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz to respond to the scene.
“There were two teenage kids that were killed within a week here in Queens County,” Katz told The Post about her decision to show up to the scene in an exclusive interview. “And I felt it was important to be on the scene last night. Just like I thought it was important to be where the 13-year-old was killed last week.
“We want to keep guns out of the hands of teenagers.”
The DA added, “These are major crime scenes. We go to them. I want to make sure that I have eyes on ones I can.”
In last week’s fatal encounter, high school freshman Sanjay Samuel, 13, was shot in the head on Sept. 21 outside the coffee franchise at the corner of Linden and Springfield boulevards in Cambria Heights, cops said.
The deadly shooting stemmed from a group fight that may have been gang-motivated, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny previously said.
The alleged gunman, 16-year-old Jaysohn Sykes, is now facing charges of second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon – which could land him 25 years in jail if convicted, prosecutors said.
Youth crime in the Big Apple has more than doubled since the state’s controversial “Raise the Age Law” kicked in — despite overall dips in crime citywide, according to Mayor Eric Adams’ latest annual report released earlier this month.
Additional reporting by Larry Celona
