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A tragic and utterly senseless shooting [aren't they all] in the Bronx has left a 16-year-old aspiring football star dead after he heroically stepped in to shield his friends from a group of illegally armed thugs, yet another grim chapter in the borough's spiraling youth violence epidemic that has residents fed up and demanding real action from city leaders, including their communist mayor.
Christopher Redding, a talented player on the John F. Kennedy High School tackle football team and the Fastbreak flag football squad (with prior stints on the Bronx Colts and LBX teams), paid the ultimate price for his courage.
According to a GoFundMe page set up by his coach, "Christopher was defending his friends who were being targeted by a group of individuals who then opened fire on them in the Bronx. His last act on earth was one of courage and selflessness, protecting those he cared about."
The chaos unfolded last Wednesday after school dismissal near a bus stop in Kingsbridge, where crowds of teens had gathered. What started as a street dispute quickly escalated, because, as Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson bluntly put it, "This started out as some sort of fight on the street, and it escalated. And, guess what, someone had a gun. That is usually the issue." Gibson added that there's been "too much violence among young adults." But just how much is too much?
Police say four suspects, three males and one female, were involved. It's not yet known if these thugs identify correctly according to their actual gender.
The chaos unfolded last Wednesday after school dismissal near a bus stop in Kingsbridge, where crowds of teens had gathered. What started as a street dispute quickly escalated, because, as Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson bluntly put it, "This started out as some sort of fight on the street, and it escalated. And, guess what, someone had a gun. That is usually the issue." Gibson added that there's been "too much violence among young adults." But just how much is too much?
Police say four suspects, three males and one female, were involved. It's not yet known if these thugs identify correctly according to their actual gender.
The NYPD released footage of the group, and on Saturday, authorities nabbed a 17-year-old male connected to the incident. He's now staring down a laundry list of serious charges: murder, attempted murder, manslaughter, assault, and criminal possession of a loaded firearm. Two other young victims, a 15-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl, were shot in the right leg and are stable in the hospital.
Local resident Regina Hall witnessed the panic from her window: after five gunshots rang out, she saw "hundreds and hundreds of kids" waiting for the bus scatter in terror. "You can't come to the stores," she told reporters. "I had a friend that went to the drug store, and she had to try to run from across the street there to here to get to her house." She described regular teen brawls spilling into the streets and noted the noticeable drop in police presence thanks to Mayor Mamdani: "I used to see a lot of policemen around here. But it's, you know, can't say anymore."
The community is reeling, and frustration is boiling over toward city leadership. Redding's grieving father, Bryan Corley spoke to the New York Post about the remaining suspects still on the loose: "They're still out there, and nothing is really being done. Mayor Mamdani saying that the police is doing a good job. They're not doing a good job. It's disgusting."
The community is reeling, and frustration is boiling over toward city leadership. Redding's grieving father, Bryan Corley spoke to the New York Post about the remaining suspects still on the loose: "They're still out there, and nothing is really being done. Mayor Mamdani saying that the police is doing a good job. They're not doing a good job. It's disgusting."
When asked if Mamdani's office had even reached out to the family, he said simply: "no." For his part, Comrade Mamdani addressed the recent Bronx shootings last Thursday, calling them "heartbreaking and horrific" and adding, "I am thankful for the work of the NYPD not only in responding to them but also in the actions they are taking to ensure that we work to prevent them in the future."
District Council Member Eric Dinowitz struck a more urgent tone on X: "guns in the hands of high school students should never be the reality, and we must put an end to this senseless violence." He added that with a new mayoral administration, "we have an opportunity to address this crisis once and for all. My colleagues and I in the City Council will do everything we can to support an anti-gun violence agenda that addresses the root causes and saves lives."
District Council Member Eric Dinowitz struck a more urgent tone on X: "guns in the hands of high school students should never be the reality, and we must put an end to this senseless violence." He added that with a new mayoral administration, "we have an opportunity to address this crisis once and for all. My colleagues and I in the City Council will do everything we can to support an anti-gun violence agenda that addresses the root causes and saves lives."
He failed to mention how this would be addressed in terms of getting illegal guns off the streets. It isn't as though criminals are going to give up their guns, and gun laws seem to only apply to law abiding citizens.
Gibson echoed the sentiment, noting the borough has seen a troubling rise in gun violence [as if it's the guns that are violent, not the shooters] that has "leaving too many of our families and community members feeling unsafe in their own neighborhoods."
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This isn't just another statistic, it's a heartbreaking loss of a promising young life cut short in an avoidable explosion of street-level stupidity and easy access to firearms among the youth.
Gibson echoed the sentiment, noting the borough has seen a troubling rise in gun violence [as if it's the guns that are violent, not the shooters] that has "leaving too many of our families and community members feeling unsafe in their own neighborhoods."
If you enjoy Brain Flushings and would like to subscribe or Buy Me a Coffee, or even check out the sponsors on this page, I would appreciate it, as it supports my work and my coffee drinking habit. No pressure and subscribing is free. So is checking out the advertisers on the blog.
This isn't just another statistic, it's a heartbreaking loss of a promising young life cut short in an avoidable explosion of street-level stupidity and easy access to firearms among the youth.
The guns don't commit the violence and the problem isn't just with access to them. The problem starts at home where, for example, missing fathers have no influence on their sons and daughters. The problem is primarily a social problem where cops are vilified and guns are glorified.
