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Staten Island Baby Shot In Face Recovering Well, Family Jeers At Teen Suspect
By
Ben Yakas
Published Sep 16, 2011
Modified Sep 16, 2011
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Sep 16, 2011
Modified Sep 16, 2011
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The 21-month old baby girl who was shot in the face in the crossfire of a Staten Island shootout is recovering surprisingly well from the incident, and expected to make "near a complete recovery" according to doctors. "It is kind of a miracle," pediatric anesthesiologist Dr. Hak Ryu said about little Samyah Bailey, who lost an eye as a result of Wednesday's attack. Samyah's family let the teen suspect in the shooting know what they feel would be an appropriate punishment: “An eye for an eye!” yelled Samyah’s aunt, Philecia Parker, at 19-year-old suspect Damark King.
The family crowded around and jeered at King as he left his arraignment in Staten Island court. “Hang yourself with a sheet, bitch!” one woman shouted at him. Parker was particularly unnerved when she found out King was the prime suspect in the shooting, since the family knows him well, and she personally gave him a ride home two weeks ago. “We just want him to go away. Because he’s 19 years old, they have any kind of leniency on them? No. How many times is he going to shoot somebody?” she asked the Post. Parker was also upset that King appeared to be smirking outside court: "He had a smirk on his face. How you smirking? You just shot a 17-month-old baby."
According to police, Samyah was being watched by her father, Michael Bailey, and an uncle, Anthony Mahoney. King, who may have had previously been involved with Samyah's mother at some point, showed up with a friend and got into a fight with Mahoney. When Bailey jumped in, King allegedly took a gun out and shot four times. King was paroled in January after serving four years for shooting a teen twice in the chest over an Xbox and a pair of sneakers. He has been charged with assault, criminal possession of a weapon and reckless endangerment.
Tagged
gun violence
samyah bailey
shooting
staten island
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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