13-year-old boy charged in shooting of two other teens outside NYC high school
A 13-year-old boy was charged Thursday for allegedly opening fire near a Queens high school — wounding two teenagers — as other students told The Post they’re terrified they could be next.
The gunfire erupted during a large fight outside Campus Magnet HS in Cambria Heights at around 4:50 p.m. Wednesday, police said.
A 16-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl — both students at the school who were waiting for a bus — were struck by bullets, he in the leg and she in the ankle, police sources said.
Police saw the alleged baby-faced shooter drop a gun as he tried to run away from the scene, according to law enforcement sources.
The teen — whose name was not released because he is a minor — was taken into custody and charged Thursday with assault, criminal possession of a weapon and reckless endangerment. He was awaiting arraignment in Queens Family Court.
“It’s terrifying because it could happen to any one of us,” said Dahlia Chaperon, an 18-year-old senior at Campus Magnet.
“But at the same time I’m not surprised because [the school] is in an area where that is quite common,” she added.
Sources say the shooting was not gang-related, and it is unclear if the victims were the intended targets. The accused gunman attends a different school, according to sources.
The wounded students were taken to local hospitals and expected to recover.
Sophomores Shania Parker and Alana Opoku, both 16, said they’re in the same class as the wounded girl.
“I’m wondering what a little kid is doing with a gun at his young age,” Opoku said of the shooter.
“There [are] too many school shootings happening around,” Parker noted. “I feel like it is dangerous for kids to even be outside of school.”
Police and members of community organizations milled about the school after classes Thursday.
A senior, Mickayla, 18, who declined to give her last name, said their efforts are not enough.
“We really should have more gun control. There is a reason why that child had a gun,” she argued.
“The fact that it fell into his hand is just really scary, to know that such young kids are able to get guns like that.”
Her concerns were echoed by another senior, Anthony Frazier, 17, who told The Post he does not feel “all that safe” going to school anymore.
“I feel like [Mayor Eric Adams] is trying to get to the root of the problem, but the problem is, that root is so deep, you have to deal with what’s on the surface first. A lot of it is what’s already happening, and not what you could prevent,” he said.
Nearby residents were also worried about the violence.
“None of us comes out [when the kids are coming out of school],” said a local named Jay, who declined to give his last name. He claimed to have lodged several prior complaints with the school about students’ threatening behavior.
“It gets pretty bad. They need to have cops on each corner here because they come and horseplay down this block and it’s a free-for-all.”
A couple that lives near the campus, who declined to identify themselves, expressed similar anxieties.
“I don’t see any cure for this any time soon,” the husband said of the ongoing violence.
“It’s getting worse. They should do more. Watching the news and seeing what is going on, I feel that the police doesn’t have enough power. Looking at all this shoplifting, and shooting up… I wish the police would get more authority to do what they got to do.”
Additional reporting by Larry Celona