The Brooklyn shooting that killed 13-year-old Troy Gill as he headed home from a Nets game late last month was retaliation for an assault earlier in the night, according to police.
A couple of hours before the 7:30 p.m. game at the Barclays Center on Feb. 29, a 20-year-old member of the Woo street gang suffered minor injuries during a Crown Heights assault, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said at a Tuesday news briefing.
The murder of Troy, who cops say was a member of the rival Drench gang, was revenge for that assault, according to Kenny.
The teen’s family has adamantly denied his involvement in any gang, but police confirmed the boy had the word “Drench” tattooed on his body.
Troy had FaceTimed his mom at the game and then again when he was leaving around 10:10 p.m. to tell her he was getting in an Uber home.
At 10:35 p.m. and less than a half mile from Troy’s home, 911 callers reported a person shot near the corner of Brooklyn Ave. and St. Marks Ave., police said.
Right around then, Troy FaceTimed his mom one last time to tell her he had been shot.
When police arrived at the scene and as Troy’s family desperately searched for him nearby, the boy was found suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
Medics took him to Kings County Hospital Center, but he could not be saved.
Cops are still searching for anyone involved in Troy’s death and have zeroed in on a white Jeep Cherokee seen fleeing the scene after the shooting.
The SUV was rented from an Avis car rental location at a Philadelphia airport, Kenny said Tuesday.
