Latest news with #DaoudMarji


New York Post
2 days ago
- New York Post
Boy, 13, busted in stray bullet NYC shooting death of Yonkers man in the Bronx: cops
A 13-year-old boy was busted this week in the shooting death of an innocent 28-year-old man who was simply meeting his out-of-town friend in the Bronx late last month, cops said Wednesday. The young teen turned himself in Tuesday afternoon to face charges of second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter and criminal use of a firearm in the broad-daylight April 23 shooting death of Daoud Marji, a 28-year-old plumber's apprentice from Yonkers, police said. Daoud was not the intended target, nor was a 33-year-old woman who was struck in the hip and wounded in the fray, according to law enforcement sources. 6 A 13-year-old boy was charged with second-degree murder in the April 23 shooting that took the life of Daoud Marji, 28, cops said. Peter Gerber 6 Daoud, a plumber's apprentice from Yonkers, was meeting up with an out-of-town pal at University Avenue and West Kingsbridge Road when he was fatally shot in the head. The motive for the deadly violence – and the target of the boy's gunfire – were not immediately known. Daoud was meeting up with a pal from Detroit at University Avenue and West Kingsbridge Road just before 5 p.m. when bullets flew – with a single round striking him in the head, according to cops and his father. He was rushed to St. Barnabas Hospital, where he clung to life but ultimately succumbed to his injuries. Daoud's dad Saed Marji, 56, previously told The Post he encouraged his son not to travel to the Bronx, because he heard the area was bad. He was heartbroken when his son's pal called him with the shattering news. 6 Daoud's dad Saed Marji, 56, said he had encouraged his son not to travel to the Bronx. TOMAS E. GASTON 'I'm a strong man, but I'm shocked. I have to take care of my family. My wife, she's very bad.' 'What am I going to do? He was my blood,' the heartbroken dad added. The alleged teen shooter's arrest came just hours after Commissioner Jessica Tisch bashed policies such as 'Raise the Age' initiatives which she said made it 'basically a consequence-free environment for kids committing crimes.' 6 'What am I going to do? He was my blood,' Daoud's heartbroken dad said. 'We changed the all the laws as they relate to how we deal with youth in our criminal justice system in 2019, and since then, we have seen an absolute explosion of youth violence, both youth as the perps and youth as the victims,' the top cop said on FOX 5's Good Day New York Tuesday morning. 'Kids commit crimes against other kids. And it is definitely something, an area where we need to re-look at the laws that were passed in 2019 and consider some major changes.' 'It's a bigger problem now,' Tisch added. 'There are more young people that we are finding with guns as the trigger-pullers.' 6 Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said youth violence has become a 'bigger problem' in recent years. Kyle Mazza/NurPhoto/Shutterstock The tragic killing also marked the second time in as many days that an innocent New Yorker was slain in random gun violence on the city's streets. A trailblazing Harlem bodega owner and community fixture — Excenia Mette, 61 — was also fatally shot in the head less than 24 hours earlier when she ran outside to check on her grandson. Police believe Ricky Shelby, 23, shot Mette by mistake as he exchanged bullets with Darious Smith, also 23, around 10:20 p.m. April 22 near West 113th Street and Lenox Avenue, according to sources. 6 Daoud marked the second innocent bystander fatally shot in the Big Apple in as many days. Peter Gerber Shelby was arraigned on second-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, and criminal possession of a weapon charges and ordered held without bail by a Manhattan judge. Smith, who was arrested nearby with a gunshot wound to his foot, faces an attempted murder charge and also remains in jail without bail.


New York Post
02-05-2025
- New York Post
Shootings spike as mercury rises in NYC, surging more than 50% last week: NYPD data
Gun violence in New York City has spiked along with the mercury, with shootings up more than 50% last week compared to the same time last year — indicating that the Big Apple could be in for a bloody summer. A total of 23 shootings were reported across the five boroughs in the week starting April 21, according to new NYPD statistics — an increase of 53% from the 15 shootings tallied over the same period in 2024. Temperatures in Gotham hit a high of 82 degrees last Tuesday, making it the second warmest day in April, according to Accuweather. Advertisement 5 Shootings saw more than a 50 percent spike in the Big Apple last week, compared to the same period in 2024. Robert Miller Last week, overall, was the warmest week of the month, with the average temperature hovering around 74 degrees, the weather data shows. The NYPD statistics also show that over a 28-day period ending on Sunday, gunplay was up 17% compared to last year — with 61 shootings, versus 52 shootings over the same period in 2024. Advertisement Victims of the senseless violence last week include 61-year-old grandmother and trailblazing Harlem bodega owner Excenia Mette, who was caught in crossfire and fatally shot in the head when she ran outside to check on her grandson. Another innocent bystander, 28-year-old plumber's apprentice Daoud Marji, was also killed by a stray bullet to the head just a day later while he was visiting a pal in the Bronx. 5 One of the victims of last week's gunfire was innocent grandmother Excenia Mette, 61, who was killed by a stray bullet on Tuesday, cops said. Excenia Mette/Facebook 5 Daoud Marji, 28, another innocent bystander, was fatally shot in the Bronx on Wednesday, police said. Advertisement Meanwhile, an off-duty NYPD cop was grazed in the leg Sunday morning when two career criminals opened fire as they apparently tried to swipe his neon green BMW in Queens. And early Wednesday, a 29-year-old Times Square food vendor was shot and wounded following a fight over a backpack at Seventh Avenue and West 47th Street, according to the police. Adding fuel to the warm weather uptick in shootings, gun arrests were down about 17% last week and 30% over the 28-day period ending Sunday, compared to 2024, NYPD data shows. 5 Last week, on average, was the warmest in all of April, weather data shows. Kyle Mazza/NurPhoto/Shutterstock Advertisement Still, the spring-time surge didn't spoil the city's overall decline in shootings so far this year, with gunplay down 12% in the first four months of the year, compared to 2024, the stats show. There were 213 shootings in the first third of 2025, according to the latest overall figures updated Wednesday, on the last day of April. Murders, specifically, were down by 24% this year so far, with 92 deaths, the data shows. 5 This week's shooting victims included a 29-year-old Times Square food vendor who was shot and wounded following a fight over a backpack. @PokeandProdcast The warm weather uptick comes after the NYPD touted a 23% plunge in shootings in the first quarter of 2025, ending in March. If the Big Apple stays on this trajectory, New Yorkers could see the lowest number of shootings on record in nearly a decade — since 2018. Subway crime also cratered below pre-pandemic levels during that period — a milestone that NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch credited Thursday to a surge of cops in the system. And in January and February, the city shattered a 30-year record for the fewest number of shootings in the first two months of the year.