Tyquan Howard: New York teen involved in brutal beating of 15-year-old girl shot dead in broad daylight
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: A teen who was arrested in connection to the brutal daytime assault on a teen girl on a Brooklyn sidewalk in March was shot dead earlier this week, authorities have confirmed.
Tyquan Howard, 16, was shot in the abdomen on St. John's Place, near Rochester Avenue in Crown Heights, just around the corner from his home, around 1 pm on Tuesday, May 12, according to the New York Post.
Police said the teen was just about conscious when emergency medical services arrived on the scene but that he didn't know who had shot him. He was transported to the Brookdale Hospital, where he was pronounced dead a few hours later.
It is still unclear what may have prompted the shooting and no arrests were made in the case as of May 13.
Howard, along with 11 other teens, had been arrested and charged with robbery and gang assault over a March 5 attack on a 15-year-old girl in front of 216 Utica Ave in Brooklyn that was caught on surveillance footage.
The video showed the victim falling on the pavement as the group of teens chased her and then being kicked and beaten until she was unconscious. One of the perpetrators then steals her Air Jordans, while a few of the others steal her phone and debit card before leaving her on the sidewalk fleeing the scene.
The victim had to be taken to NYC Health & Hospitals/King County and was treated for trauma and bruises before she was released to her family for recovery.
It was reported at the time that the attack was in retaliation for her beating up another girl earlier the same day, with the teens who assaulted her said to have been friends with the other girl.
Assistant Chief Jeffrey Maddrey of NYPD Brooklyn North had called the attack "outrageous" and tweeted asking for help in recognizing all the suspects, of which there were believed to be around 20.
"We cannot allow this behavior in our community. While this is still an active investigation, several suspects are in custody," she wrote. "Please help us identify the individuals responsible for this brutal Robbery/Gang Assault and bring justice to those responsible for the victim and her family. If you were in the area of Utica Ave and Park Pl & witnessed this incident or can identify #CrownHeights we need your help."
Following Howard's death, AMNY reported that the sector of the 77th Precinct where he died has been plagued with gun violence over the last nine months.
Paul Hoilett, 31, had been shot and killed outside of 232 Buffalo Ave. on Saturday, April 11, and in August, four people were shot during a memorial at Sterling Place and Buffalo Avenue. The NYPD has set up a Mobile Command Patrol Unit on the corner of Rochester Avenue and Sterling Place, but that has done little to stem the tide of shootings.
Overall, New York City's murder rate for April jumped by 34.8 percent in comparison to the same month last year despite shelter-in-place orders being in effect.