By Ivan Pereira
A patrolling police car noticed a 18-year-old student arguing with two teen boys outside the Queens School for Career Development, located at 142-10 Linden Blvd., on Jan. 23 and approached the group when the student was shot in the neck, police said. The two teenage suspects, who police said were members of the Crips gang, ran away and began firing at the officers, who fired back, according to police.”I was in my house when I heard the shots. At first I thought it was construction or something, then I heard pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop and then the police sirens,” said Justin Knight, 14, who lives a block from the school.No one was hurt in the shoot-out between the officers and the suspects, who fled the scene by jumping in and out of nearby back yards, police said. The victim, McKinzie Percell, who police said was part of the rival Bloods gang, was rushed to Jamaica Hospital, where he was in stable condition.Students who were taking their U.S. History and English Regents exams inside the school were kept indoors for hours as SWAT teams, search dogs and three helicopters searched the neighborhood for the two suspects. Residents and parents were fearful of the armed teens lurking around on their very own property.”I never thought the school was that bad, but I'm more afraid now,” said one parent who would not disclose his name.After two hours of searching, police found an abandoned .25-caliber pistol used in the incident on a nearby lawn. The search continued and later in the evening officers arrested the two teens, police said.Joseph Walker, 19, of 117-63 126th St., was charged by police with attempted murder and assault, while 16-year-old Carl Bernard of 135-30 127th St. was charged with the same and criminal possession of a weapon, police said.Students and residents said Queens School for Career Development, which is a special education school, according to the city's Department of Education, is notorious for gang activity as fights break out blocks from the building.”The school is filled with the Bloods, but around here, it's all Crips,” Knight said.Students have complained that safety enforcement is lax within the school, which shares the building with the Queens Academy, as there are few officers walking the halls and there are no metal detectors at the entrances. A 17-year-old student of the school, who did not want his name printed, said he has seen several instances in which students sneaked knives and guns into the building.”You could walk right in and no one would notice. Usually people get into fights over people talking junk, so they'll call their friends to start a fight,” the junior from South Jamaica said.A spokeswoman from the DOE confirmed that the school building does not have permanent metal detectors but said it has a reliable security detail. The shooting was under investigation, according to the spokeswoman.Reach reporter Ivan Pereira by e-mail at ipereira@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 146.
