December 3, 2007
Bar Fight Leaves One Brother Dead, Another Injured
The fatal shooting outside Radio Perfecto restaurant on Amsterdam Avenue between 118th and 119th Streets was prompted by a bar fight. Twenty-three year-old Delquan Kearns was shot in the head while his brother Stephan Jones, 27, was shot in the arm after they argued with another group of men over a drink around 3AM on Sunday.
Their mother told the Post, "My sons said they were at the bar and that some guy grabbed one of their drinks. Delquan told the guy that was his drink, and the guy said ‘That's okay, I don't care.' They got into an argument [and] went outside."
The Sun reports that a security guard asked the groups to leave the restaurant, and a few minutes later, shots were fired. According to Alexander, Jones told her the bullet "went through his left arm and into Delquan's head. They didn't have time to react." The shooter escaped, running north on Amsterdam and then east on West 119th. The body of Kearns, who had three children and was visiting from Pennsylvania for the holidays, was left on the sidewalk until morning for identification.
The restaurant is across the street from Columbia University's campus and is popular amongst students. A lawyer for Radio Perfecto told the NY Times that the men were not regulars, "We believe these individuals were not affiliated with Columbia in any way, but were simply patrons from around the five boroughs." And a Columbia administrator says it's "tragic and sad for all those involved."
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Erm, Radio Perfecto -wishes- it were popular amongst students. AFAIK it's frequented mostly by people "from around the five boroughs" despite its close proximity to the Columbia campus.
what was the drink?
I miss the Night Cafe.
F'd up story. Alot of times I read these shooting/barfight stories and think "the guy should've been smarter and not argued", but if some asshole grabbed my drink and said something stupid like "That's ok, I don't care." I probably would've stepped outside with him as well. Which means I'd be shot or dead just like Delquan.
this weekend's entertainment casualties...
say what you want, but it is usually always B&T folks :-)
If the police were doing there job they would ask what kind of drink it was and how much it cost? Was the glass half full or half empty.
The dude lived out in PA with a woman and had three children, he was in for the holidays? What holiday might I ask occured over the past weekend? Or was he planning to spend the time between Thanksgiving and Mardi Gras here in the city?
A mother is three left children is left behind while the father goes partying. His priorities were in the wrong place.
Also Gothamist Kearns is 25 not 23 according to the NY Times.
"The dead brother, Delquan Kearns, 25, was a father of three and had recently moved to Pennsylvania, where he worked in a restaurant, Ms. Alexander said."
A mother and her three children are left behind while the father goes partying. His priorities were in the wrong place.
Also Gothamist Kearns is 25 not 23 according to the NY Times.
"The dead brother, Delquan Kearns, 25, was a father of three and had recently moved to Pennsylvania, where he worked in a restaurant, Ms. Alexander said."
I guess McDonalds is considered a restaurant.
"A mother and her three children are left behind while the father goes partying"
The article says he lived with his girlfriend and their two year old. Presumably there is another baby mama (or two!) left alone somewhere as well.
i'm going on a hunger strike until they find the real killer.
Radio Perfecto is not frequented by Columbia students in any way, as talos mentioned. The food is OK, but the service is horrendous. I wonder how they are still in business because every time I walk by there the place is empty save for a few older (late twenties to late forties) folks putting up with the aforementioned shitty service.
Jeez, another mindless instance of blaming the victim.
You're missing the point. Regardless of your judgment of his personal life, Kearns didn't deserve to be murdered because he stood up for himself. The stupid jerk who shot him for no reason should be taken off the streets.
And once the killer is found, more likely than not you'll see that he has a rap sheet longer than your leg.
There's a lesson here: Don't "step outside" any place with any person for any reason. Someone stole your drink? Get another one. A guy eyed your girl? Go to another place.
Fighting is STUPID for several reasons, chief among them that you never know when your adversary is armed or has friends outside just waiting to jump you and use your head for a soccer ball. Or maybe he's a judo expert with an arrest record 40 feet long. Or maybe he's a Russian serial killer having a bad day, or someone for whom a broken nose is merely motivation for curb-stomping all your teeth into the back of your head.
Don't do it. You may feel less macho but you'll still be in one piece. And really, is it worth it?
Now yu be waitin bro. I come from PA to visit and chill with my step bro and we be hazled and shit at the club. Waz I gonna do? I can't be goin bak home and shit without street cred and shit. I's got three little chilun. Now if dey no's I ain't got no street cred how's they be grownen up and shit?
Has anyone searched the victims rap sheet yet?
too many people have guns nowadays.
you'd be surprised. of course, most of these people don't carry them outside the home or business.
jenchungsbra - so you'd rather live your entire life branded as a coward? If that guy did that in front of your friends and family, wouldn't your pride take a hit? u could die tomorrow from a car accident. Life is short anyway. Better to live it the way you want instead of living in fear
Here's a better idea. Why not stay out of skanky dives that cater to lowlifes? Don't forget that it's always possible to be hit by a stray bullet intended for someone else.
JCB is right: the smart move is always to walk away. Especially in NYC, I don't care if you're a brazilian jujitsu badass - almost everyone carries a weapon of some kind, most of the time a knife. Tha rear-naked choke won't be as threatening when you've got 4 stab wounds pumping arterial blood out of you.
But hey, pride goeth before a fall.
I love Gothamist's white folk. Y'all remind me that I still live in America.
As a family member of the two brothers shot, of course it was senseless, but the comments of some of you are cruel. Maybe something like this never happened to you, and I hope that it doesn't. How about taking a stand on gun control. For someone to be shot over a drink, does not justify the lack of security at this place or any other establishment where violence can erupt. And of course, the killer gets away. Had this happen in a more upscale neighborhood, or even to cops or political figures, the story would be different. Have a little sympathy for the families of these young men. No one is immuned from such violence and/or tragedy, no matter what the situation may be.