(NBC) Police identified a Brooklyn man Thursday as a suspect in the fatal shooting of Guyanese, 16 year old Shemel Mercurius who was shot on Tuesday while baby siting her 3-year-old cousin.
The suspect, Taariq Stephens, 24, allegedly used a .40-caliber submachine gun to fire three rounds at Mercurius, while she was taking care of her young cousin in her sixth-floor apartment in East Flatbush.
Officers were called to the Brooklyn Avenue apartment building just before 6 p.m. following reports of gunfire.
Investigators believe Stephens lives nearby on Brooklyn Avenue.
They found Mercurius semi-conscious in her apartment with multiple gunshot wounds, authorities said. Mercurius was taken to Kings County Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Mercurius’ aunt told NBC 4 New York that her 3-year-old son witnessed the shooting.
“My son was in the apartment screaming, and the neighbors heard him crying and started banging the door, but Shemel wasn’t able to get up or move or do anything,” said Latoya Price.
She also said Mercurius was able to describe the gunman to police before she died. Price’s 3-year-old son was unharmed.
Armed man and woman seen fleeing Brooklyn apartment where 16-year-old girl was shot – News Room Guyana
The girl’s aunt, Latoya Price, took Shemel in four years ago when the girl immigrated with her dad from Guyana. The family was hoping she would attend college in the U.S.
“They have to pay for it. Why would you want to take someone’s life?” Price said in tears. “She’s only 16. You took her whole life away from her. For what reason?”
