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Teen Found Dead After Playing Tennis In Bronx Park
By
John Del Signore
Published Jul 27, 2012
Modified Jul 27, 2012
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By
John Del Signore
Published Jul 27, 2012
Modified Jul 27, 2012
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A Bronx man found his 14-year-old tennis-playing son dead in a park near their home early this morning. Cassell Brooks tells the Daily News his youngest child, Kemar, went out to play tennis around 6 p.m. last night in nearby Haffen Park. Witnesses tell A Walk in the Park they saw the teen playing tennis until about 8 p.m., when the rain started and people ran for cover. Police sources say the boy may have been shot, but that has not been officially confirmed. At this point, the NYPD has only confirmed that Kemar sustained blunt-force trauma to the back of the head.
Area resident Marie Johnson, 70, said she heard three or four shots, telling A Walk in the Park, "I know the difference between thunder and gun shots. It wasn't the storm." Outside the family's Baychester home today, his oldest brother stood weeping next to a memorial of Kemar's bowling trophies and tennis medals. According to his father, Kemar was an honor student and an athlete.
Brooks tells the Daily News he waited for Kemar to come home until midnight and fell asleep. When he awoke around 3 a.m. to find the boy still not home, he went out searching for him, to no avail. Around 5 a.m. he went out again, and finally found his son face down in the park, with his tennis bag by his side. “He was lying on his side with the racket in his hand,” says Brooks.
"He'll be by the park from morning till night," Brooks tells NY1. "Sometimes I gotta go over there and call him to eat something 'cause he would just shut in playing tennis all day." No arrests have been made. Police sources tell DNAinfo that shell casings were found on a basketball court near the tennis court. "He had a bright future,” said Brooks. “He was exceptional. Why him?"
Tagged
baychester
kemar brooks
shooting
the bronx
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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