A 14-year-old thug shot up a Brooklyn bus on Thursday, missing his target, and unintentionally killed an innocent family man, Angel Rojas, 39. The shooting occurred around 6:20 on the B15 bus on Marcus Garvey Boulevard near Lafayette Avenue.
There were several teens on the rear of the bus. They saw one of their rivals boarding the bus and started shooting at him. Witnesses say three or four shots were fired and one struck Rojas in the back of the head. Police reportedly found six empty shell casings at the scene. Rojas remained upright, continued breathing, and had a pulse when paramedics arrived but later died at the hospital.
Police found the 14-year-old hiding in a neighborhood laundromat, still in possession of the now unloaded gun. They took the boy and his two accomplices into custody for questioning. The suspect's grandfather identified the teenager as Katon Anderson and told reporters, "He's just a good kid."
Rojas had a wife, a 12-year-old son, Saury, and an 8-year-old daughter, April. His family moved from the Dominican Republic to New York four years ago in search of a better life. The victim worked a 12 hour-shift at a fruit stand on Thursday and was planning to work his other job in a deli after a routine stop home to give his family a hug.
The victim's cousin, Josie Guerrero, summed up the tragedy, "It was a 14-year-old," she told the New York Times, "I feel like two lives have been taken." The suspect had no prior record with the police.