13-Year-Old Shot in Face at NYC Playground Dies Days Later

The 13-year-old boy declared brain-dead after being shot in the head at a Staten Island playground Friday afternoon has died, the NYPD said Tuesday as it declared his case a homicide investigation.

The victim, identified as Jamoure Harrell, who lived in the borough, died Sunday of his injuries, officials say.

Harrell was gunned down in the middle of the afternoon Friday, just before 4 p.m., at the Dr. Maggie Howard Playground, near the Stapleton Houses on Warren and Gordon streets, authorities have said.

It happened about a block from his school, I.S. 49, as he hung out with a group of friends after classes got out.

According to the NYPD, another teenager some distance away fired two shots into the group, with one of the bullets hitting Harrell in the face.

Witnesses said another teen opened fire from a distance away at a group of kids hanging out after school, with a bullet striking the victim in the face. NBC New York’s Checkey Beckford reports.

Community activist Malcolm Penn, who knew the boy, said he had been set to graduate from eighth grade next month and was looking forward to it. He described Harrell as a “very energetic kid, just out having fun on a beautiful day like a 13-year-old does.”

The intended target of the shooting wasn’t clear.

No arrests have been made. Police said the shooter is believed to be between the ages of 15 and 18 and about 5 feet 7 inches tall. Anyone with information on the case is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.