Police investigating the death of a one-year-old boy shot in the head in a stroller said they believe his father was the target and it may be gang-related.
Authorities say Antiq Hennis was slain on a Brooklyn street Sunday night. His father, Anthony Hennis, has a criminal record and wasn’t cooperating with police.
The 21-year-old had just gone to pick up Antiq at the home of the baby’s mother, Cherise Miller, and take him to visit Hennis’ grandmother, police said.
Anthony Hennis put the boy in the stroller and was pushing him across a street in the Brownsville neighborhood when shots rang out, killing the boy.
Hennis’ grandmother, Lenore Steele, heard shots before Hennis ran up to her.
"And he fell on the ground and said, ‘Grandma, my baby got shot! My baby got shot, Grandma!’" said Steele, flanked by community group leaders.
"He was such a beautiful little baby, smiling and talking to everybody."
Four shots were fired in the attack, and one hit Antiq in the side of his head; he was declared dead on arrival at a hospital as the news shook the community.
Bishop Willie Billips, who drove the parents to the hospital to identify the body of their only child, stated the obvious: "The family is suffering right now."
Mayor Michael Bloomberg called the killing "a tragedy for his family, for this community, for the entire city" and political candidates talked about gun violence.
While killings hit a record low in NYC last year and are on track to drop further in 2013, he said, "that is cold comfort to any grieving parent or friends."