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Suspects: At left, Carvett Gentles (image from WCBS 2), and, at right, clockwise from top left, Rohan Francis, Dwayne Taylor, Clivie Smith, and Cleve Smith (images from NY1)
A 16-year-old boy has confessed to the Monday afternoon shooting that left a Bronx girl in a medically-induced coma. Carvett Gentles, a sophomore at Bronx Leadership Academy who rarely attended class, had no criminal record before this week, and police believe that's why the .40-caliber pistol used in the shooting was passed to him, in a street version of "hot potato." The four other young men who were with him Monday afternoon all have extensive arrest records, and those boys—also members of a Bloods gang spin-off called "Gorilla Stone Blood"—passed the gun around until it ended up in Gentles's hands.
They had been sent on a mission to exact revenge on Tyrone Creighton; investigators believe Creighton's brother assaulted one of gang-members' brothers on Rikers Island. (A spokesman for the city Correction Department tells the Times there is "no information that either of the Creighton brothers currently in our custody has been involved in a fight with other inmates.") The five young men allegedly confronted Creighton, 19, outside a Bronx bodega, and one suspect, Clive Smith, asked, "What’s up with the beef between your brothers and Darrel?"
Cleighton tried to run, but by then the gun had landed in Gentles's hand, and he fired at least six rounds, hitting Creighton in the shoulder and penetrating his lung. (He's currently in stable condition.) 15-year-old Vada Vasquez happened to be walking home from school with a friend, and a stray bullet struck her in the head, shattering inside her skull. After brain surgery, she is in a medically-induced coma. Her older sister tells the Times, "She’s a great artist, a great kid. She’s hardworking. She likes her music, her guitar and her drums."
Yesterday prosecutors charged Gentiles with attempted murder, criminal use of a firearm and armed assault. A classmate of his tells CBS2, "If I was like sad he would talk to me, stuff like that, or at lunch he would joke around. He's a good kid. I wouldn't believe he would do all this." A reporter asked the mother of two other suspects, Cleve and Clivie Smith, ages 20 and 19, if they had ever been in trouble with the law. She responded, "You know they kids. That has nothing to do with … No … and don't do that. Those are my babies."
Gentles' mother, Zelita Mighty, 36, told reporters she "could not breathe" when asked about the charges, and later passed them a note through her apartment window which read: "The events over the past couple of days have been tragic. We are heartbroken over the whole incident. We pray daily for young Vada Vasquez." Asked about recent spike in gun violence, a 56-year-old man who has lived in the South Bronx his whole life told the Post, "It's still the same. The only thing different is the prices of the drugs went up. Nowadays, there is no parental guidance—kids are raising kids. Now parents are trying to pay their bills and they're working. Before, they were on welfare and were at home when the kids got home."
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"Gorilla Stone Blood"? That's racist.
Confession + Dead Girl = Lethal Injection.
Do it.
She's not dead and hopefully won't be.
Back on topic: I wish the news media would stop interviewing the parents of the suspects. What do people expect them to say??
When the suspect is only 16 years old I think it puts some more accountability on the parents, which it should.
The man's qoute on the bottom of the article is incredibly interesting to me... I love when old-timers comment on youth oriented problems, it puts an additional layer of stupidity on the criminal actions...
I wish the opposite -- that the media would do in-depth stories about the parents of all kids who do shit like this. Spotlight how the parents failed in their responsibility to society and how they didn't properly supervise their child. Focus on how the parents neglected to instill a sense of right and wrong. Do this every time and maybe just maybe some parent out there will change his or her ways and do the right thing for a change. Because in almost all these cases the parents are just as much to blame as the kid, or more.
You're right. My bad.
A LOT of time for this kid, then.
Also, as for the parent's having responsibility. Sure they do, but at the age of 16 in an inner city situation....these kids are adults. He knew better.
But I will go a long with the parents having SOME responsibility. I live in Williamsburg and see neglectful parents all over the place..all day....which reminds me. Why aren't the food-stamp spending parents leading by example and WORKING instead of drinking in a bodega all day.
lazy. complacent. bad parents.
This story is so depressing. I hope Vada Vasquez gets better. And I hope the community and NYPD figure out a way to make the neighborhood stronger, though I don't know what will happen given the budget cuts.
The kid looks positively bewildered while his four homies look like poster boys for the douchebag street thug stereotype reinforcement brigade. Sad story all around.
He shouldn't be bewildered. You fire a gun, then end up in cuffs? That's not a tough equation.
Awwww, poor kid in the wrong place at the wrong time, huh. "He was such a nice kid...." blah blah blah....he fired a gun with the intent to kill.
Lock that kid up.
Gentiles is gonna be someone's bitch in the joint bigtime.
Is that Wallace?
Looks more like Dukie.... "Yo Mr. Presbo, can I borrow some money from you?"
"He's a good kid."
"I hope the community and NYPD figure out a way to make the neighborhood stronger"
That's interesting. What would that look like, exactly? (Not trying to be a jerk, just genuinely curious as to what this means)
I believe I read that residents said there are no police in the area, and then with the last quote in the post above, it seems that there are drug problems. My guess is that the police flood the area and community leaders/local politicians have to band together and work with residents. It's probably the Pollyanna approach, because I don't know if those resources are even available.
flood the area with police? Police arrest people after they break the law - they dont play softball with kids - the community doesnt need police - they need a philisophy/culture change and theres no quick fix for it -
It can show the dealers and gangbangers are not in charge, when they slink away or hauled away in cuffs.
"Nowadays, there is no parental guidance—kids are raising kids. Now parents are trying to pay their bills and they're working. Before, they were on welfare and were at home when the kids got home."
That's no excuse. There are plenty of latchkey kids nowadays, and the vast majority of them don't become thugs. The parents may not be home until later, but good parenting doesn't need a lot of time. It's about quality, not quantity. From what I've seen, most of these parents are simply not up to the task. They don't know how to talk to their kids. Usually, they only open their mouths to yell at the kids.
Yeah because people sitting on their ass collecting welfare are known for their excellent parenting skills. If only they could be at home parenting instead of working, the projects would be filled with aspiring Nobel Prize winners again.
I just love the quotes surrounding the story.
Carvett Gentles, a sophomore at Bronx Leadership Academy who rarely attended class, "A classmate of his tells CBS2, "If I was like sad he would talk to me, stuff like that," I guess he just popped by and did lunch with his friend.
Clive and Clives's mother. ""You know they kids. That has nothing to do with … No … and don't do that. Those are my babies." I guess she had them when she was 12 or 13.
a 56-year-old man who has lived in the South Bronx. "Before, they were on welfare and were at home when the kids got home." That is a real heartbreak story. The kids came home at three in the morning. Who works that late? Unless your doing the streets.
I really hope this girl makes it. Look at that kid's face, I want to smack the shit out of him.
Oh, and kudos to JDS for resisting the temptation to turn this piece into another opportunity for snark.
I enjoy his snark.
Even if it was at the expense of a girl in a coma?
This is a heart-breaking story in so many ways. This 16 year old was used (willingly, no doubt) by the other guys. I hope they all get charged.
The difference in the faces of the four and the one tells us what life is like for a lot of kids out there. Only one of them looks terrified and bewildered. I hate what he did more than I feel sorry for him, but I do feel sorry for him.
And Gentile's mother is the only one who seems to be reacting honestly. Not defensively for her son, just heartbroken.
You're right.
Bronx Leadership Academy.
Where is Al Sharpton when stuff like this happens?
I believe he wrote the statement for Carvette's mother.
Savages.
without strong family bonds, kids like this will continue to seek out the support of the herd comprised of kids who are just as adrift as themselves. their external fierceness is an attempt to disguise inner weakness.
this is a generation of thug sheep.
They put up a tough front, but they are the most frightened people I have ever encountered. Anyone with an ounce of sense can see through their little ruse.
What happened to the days when a 5-on-1 pummeling sufficed as gangland retribution?
Those 4 scumbags with their 30+ combined arrests ultimately will walk away from this after some time in prison and move on to some other impressionable young kid to indoctrinate with their thug life gang garbage.
Two lives ruined over nothing
where's his father? ...oh...never mind....
gorilla stone blood, wikked band name, i'm swiping it
gsb y'alls!
Gorilla Stone Blood be no match for Zelita Mighty!!! Steel cage bitches!
more useless street thugs that should be put to death. i don't care that he was used. one less moron off the streets. these idiots need to learn how to fight with their fists then innocents won't have to suffer. can't we sue these "parents" for negligent parenting? i'm so angry about this story.
The blame here lies within the community. These kids are the symptom. The press should look and shine the spotlight on many of the people in this community who treat life with little regard.
I'm with you. Cosby came out and said some good things a few years back - you look at whats celebrated in 'hip hop' or 'thug' or 'street' culture - everybody wants to be jay-z or diddy or biggie - these are the heroes - its no wonder so many young kids are running thier lives straighit into walls
personally, I love gangsta rap, as entertainment, not as a guide book for life.
To all the people saying "parents this, parents that". It has been recently proven that peer influence is much more influential than parental influence. Once your kid falls in to the wrong crowd at their shitty school or shitty neighborhood, it's pretty much over. This is societal breakdown.
i call bs on that one. source?
I don't know of a source but I've seen kids fall through in the school I'm at. even with the best parent in the world, even doing whatever it takes to give your kid that chance, your kid may fall into that group.
and, the sad thing is the parents know this and know even they can't control it. (and other parents see this)
what I would do? two words. BOARDING SCHOOL.
and don't come back to hang out with your old hoodies.
Just be thankful you have a good kid.
If the parents have done their job right, that shouldn't happen. I grew up in a rough neighborhood. But I chose who I wanted to associate with, and that was the smart kids, not the rejects with no future. That should be instilled in children from an early age so they know what to do before high school and various temptations.
My husband grew up in Soundview, which was a pretty rough neighborhood in the 70s-80s. However, he was raised in a home in which both mother and father were present, and they instilled in him an appreciation for the value of education. There were times when he was a kid that he had to make the tough choice to end friendships with kids who were showing signs of becoming destructive losers. However, the strong foundations in his home gave him the strength to do so. Bottom line, most of these kids have never been taught the simple difference between right and wrong because nobody ever cared about them enough to spend the time to do so.
This is terrible. Why don't the decent hard working people move? Why live in such a horrible neighborhood? I wouldn't care if I had to move to the smallest town in Arkansas, if that is somewhere I could afford that would provide a safe neighborhood for my child, I'd do it.
I understand what you're saying, but why in the hell should hardworking, decent people have to flee their neighborhoods (which many have occupied for generations) because there are terrorists roaming the streets who were never given a proper upbringing. Running away isn't the answer. Demanding reform from shitty parents who should probably be sterilized is what's needed. These "people" need to be held accountable.
Not convinced he did it. Could've been one of the other kids. Where are the witnesses?
Bloods gang spin-off called "Gorilla Stone Blood"—
So gay. None of these peole can read or spell, but when it comes to gang spin off names they shoot for poet laureate.
One of hardest things for parents like these must do is have THE TALK.
It won't always work, but somehow you must teach your kids to walk away from the losers who will drag you down. It doesn't matter if it's your best friend from the time you were both 3 years old or your favourite cousin. You have to do the right thing and walk away or The Streets will get you and nobody can save you.
Gorilla stone isn't a "spin off" of the Bloods
It's a blood set, Gangsta Killa, G shine, etc. They're all "sets" not "spin offs"
The fact that we elected a brilliant, highly educated and articulate black president isn't going to do shit to change the gangster attitude in the hood.
No one said it would.
"You know they kids. That has nothing to do with … No … and don't do that. Those are my babies."
Um can they give Mrs. Smith the death penalty while we're at it? While I assume that her way of speaking indicates she is ghetto trash, I'd personally like to see this through just because of the grammar part.
Her "babies" are actually a cancer on the few rays of light in an otherwise shitty neighborhood. Every time I see a story like this I get that much closer to believing that the only solution to these problems is to endorse the Watchmen or League of Shadows (from Batman) theory.
Oh, and that old wise guy quoted at the end who seems like a good person, it's still frustrating to hear him somewhat blame the fact that a lack of welfare dollars from the government is to blame for the neighborhoods woes. Seems like he is taking care of himself, why not wishing other people would?