Teen Gets 'Out of the Ghetto,' Is Killed Returning to Say Goodbye

NYPD searching for 14-year-old Justin Streeter's killer
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 20, 2022 4:00 PM CDT
Teen Gets 'Out of the Ghetto,' Is Killed Returning to Say Goodbye
Stock photo of a gun casing at a crime scene.   (Getty Images/Bor030)

A 14-year-old boy traveled to New York City's East Harlem neighborhood on Tuesday to bid adieu to friends following his family's move to Plainfield, New Jersey, some 40 miles away. He had no idea it would be goodbye for good. Justin Streeter was shot in the head in broad daylight while exiting a deli near East 128th Street and Lexington Avenue just before 4:30pm, police said, per NBC New York. He was taken to a hospital in critical condition before police confirmed his death on Wednesday morning. A 15-year-old boy who was with Streeter was also shot but is expected to survive.

Police said a male opened fire as the pair walked toward Park Avenue after a short visit at the deli, where they had picked up some snacks, per NBC. "A male emerges on the corner and fires a volley of gunshots at the two young men," who tried to take cover between two cars, NYPD Chief of Patrol Jeffrey Maddrey said at a Tuesday press briefing, per WPIX. Seven shell casings were recovered from the scene, per NBC. Streeter, struck in the head, fell to the ground. The older teen was shot in the leg but was pulled to safety by a good Samaritan who called 911, police said. The teen is now hospitalized in stable condition.

A friend of Streeter tells NBC that his family had just "moved out to New Jersey to create a new life and get out of the ghetto, and they came to say goodbye to their loved ones and friends. And sure enough it was the last goodbye." Officers described the shooting as targeted but did not describe a motive. The suspect, said to be wearing a grey sweatshirt and blue jeans, fled west on 128th Street and has yet to be found. Maddrey appealed for anyone with information to come forward. "We cannot allow our young people to fall victim to gun violence, so please any help that we can get, I implore this to New York," he said. (More shooting stories.)

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