By Ivan Pereira
A 18-year-old student of the Queens School for Career Development, who police say was a member of the Bloods gang, was shot in the neck by an alleged member of the Crips gang after officers approached the feuding teenagers outside around 11 a.m., police said. The shooter and other alleged gang members ran away from the school's grounds at 142-10 Linden Blvd., firing at the officers, who returned fire, according to police.
“I was in my house and I heard the gunshots go off. I heard like 12 shots,” said Justin Knight, 14, who lives a block from the school.
No one was hit in the firefight between the officers and the suspected gang members, who fled the scene, jumping in and out of neighborhood back yards, police said. The victim, whom students at the school believed to be McKinzie Percell, was rushed to Jamaica hospital and in stable condition, according to police.
Dozens of students, who were in the school taking their US History and English Regents exams that day, were locked inside the building as droves of officers combed the neighborhood for the suspects. Using helicopters, riot gear and search dogs, SWAT officers went door to door looking for the shooters.
Later in the evening, police arrested two teenagers, whom they say dumped a .25-caliber pistol used in the incident on a nearby lawn. 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.
Read the full story in the Jan. 31 issue of the TimesLedger.
