A 13-year-old boy was shot to death on a Brooklyn street corner last night, police said.
Police were searching for witnesses and a motive for the bloodshed wasn’t immediately known. But Tony Herbert, a community activist, said he believes the youngster was hit by a stray bullet from a nearby dispute.
The teen, identified by relatives as Mario Avilez, was shot once in the chest at the intersection of Kingston Avenue and Herkimer Street in Bedford Stuyvesant at 9:22 p.m. He was pronounced dead at Kings County hospital.
“I heard at least four shots,” said a woman who lives nearby.
The victim’s uncle, Tony Smith, said the boy was an honor student at Boys and Girls High School.
“I can’t even think straight,” he said. “That’s his mother’s only son. She’s taking it really hard.”