An 11-year-old girl shot in the neck on a Brooklyn street last night by a thug firing at two gangbangers has a bullet wedged against her spine, police sources and a relative said.
Tayloni Mazyck was hit by the stray bullet as she walked with her mom near her home on Gates Avenue in Bedford-Stuyvesant about 8:45 p.m., the sources said.
The girl, nicknamed “Tutu,” is expected to undergo surgery, said her aunt, Michelle Fitzpatrick.
“Last night the bullet went into her mouth, down her throat and ricocheted through her spine,” Fitzpatrick said this morning. “The bullet is lodged at the very bottom of her spine. She can’t feel her legs, but she is moving a little and she’s stable. She is moving her left arm and she’s talking.”
The child, who was visiting the aunt when she was shot, is expected to graduate from PS 44 later this month.
“She was just coming to my house to visit when this all happened. That’s all. It could have been anyone. It could have been one of my daughters,” said Fitzpatrick, who broke down crying as she gave a brief update on her niece’s condition.
Kane Cooper, 17, allegedly fired at a Bloods gang member after the two got into a beef, police sources said.
He was taken into police custody last night after anti-crime cops recognized him from surveillance footage they located, police said.
They nabbed him on Marcus Garvey Boulevard and Madison Street after searching the area for Cooper.
The shooting left Tutu’s grief stricken family and friends fearing for the little girl’s future.
“Her mother said that she might be paralyzed,” said grandmother Sarah Mazyck, 67. “I am just torn with grief right now. I want her to live, but I am begging God to let her walk again.”
“I’m so scared to be outside now. I hope she’s OK. She’s such a good girl,” friend Tanaya Montes, 9, said through tears.
“She’s always getting good grades in math,” said classmate Tarane Montes, 11, who heard the shots.
The girl was rushed to Kings County Medical Center in critical condition. She is recovering at Columbia University Hospital.
Cooper was charged with attempted murder, assault, criminal use of a firearm and reckless endangerment.