Teen killed in Williamsburg shooting hours before start of his senior year
Police identified the teen as Jayden Velasquez, of Brooklyn. Friends affectionately called him “Gekko” and said he was well known around the neighborhood.
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An 18-year-old was shot and killed in Williamsburg hours before he was supposed to begin his senior year of high school at El Puente Academy.
Police identified the teen as Jayden Velasquez, of Brooklyn. Friends affectionately called him "Gekko" and said he was well known around the neighborhood.
A family friend tells News 12 that he had already been accepted into college.
The shooting happened just before 10 p.m. Wednesday outside 160 Havemeyer St.
Earlier Coverage from Edric Robinson
Exclusive surveillance video obtained by News 12 shows people running, ducking and hiding inside businesses after the shots were fired, before officers gathered outside the store as police tape blocked off part of the sidewalk. Officers were also seen standing outside the location Thursday afternoon and into the night.
Multiple neighbors said they heard two gunshots and then people shouting.
A police source told News 12 that Velasquez was shot twice — once in the chest and once in his left cheek. The second shot caused swelling, bleeding and cuts to his face.
Paramedics rushed Velasquez to Bellevue Hospital in critical condition, but he later died.
Jimmy Perez, who knew the teen, remembered him as someone who enjoyed staying active.
"He's a good kid," Perez said. "He was into working out, riding a scooter."
"He would be doing pull-ups on the scaffolding, a played basketball around the corner a couple times. I feel like I recognized him from there," added Jackson Coyle, who lives close by.
It is still unclear what happened before the shooting or why someone opened fire.
A police source says the gunman is tall and skinny. He was last seen wearing a white top and dark pants, going toward Broadway and Marcy avenues with a gun in his hand.
No arrests have been made.
