Staten Island Baby Shot In Face Recovering Well, Family Jeers At Teen Suspect

Victim Samyah Bailey

The 21-month old baby girl who was shot in the face in the crossfire of a Staten Island shootout is recovering surprisingly well from the incident, and expected to make "near a complete recovery" according to doctors. "It is kind of a miracle," pediatric anesthesiologist Dr. Hak Ryu said about little Samyah Bailey, who lost an eye as a result of Wednesday's attack. Samyah's family let the teen suspect in the shooting know what they feel would be an appropriate punishment: “An eye for an eye!” yelled Samyah’s aunt, Philecia Parker, at 19-year-old suspect Damark King.

The family crowded around and jeered at King as he left his arraignment in Staten Island court. “Hang yourself with a sheet, bitch!” one woman shouted at him. Parker was particularly unnerved when she found out King was the prime suspect in the shooting, since the family knows him well, and she personally gave him a ride home two weeks ago. “We just want him to go away. Because he’s 19 years old, they have any kind of leniency on them? No. How many times is he going to shoot somebody?” she asked the Post. Parker was also upset that King appeared to be smirking outside court: "He had a smirk on his face. How you smirking? You just shot a 17-month-old baby."

According to police, Samyah was being watched by her father, Michael Bailey, and an uncle, Anthony Mahoney. King, who may have had previously been involved with Samyah's mother at some point, showed up with a friend and got into a fight with Mahoney. When Bailey jumped in, King allegedly took a gun out and shot four times. King was paroled in January after serving four years for shooting a teen twice in the chest over an Xbox and a pair of sneakers. He has been charged with assault, criminal possession of a weapon and reckless endangerment.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Ben Yakas in News on September 16, 2011 1:40 PM

Comments [rss]

carlos

what a cruel way to start out life..:{

GregJG

God is great. So happy she made it. May Rikers welcome the sinners with open arms and zippers.

Gwinny

Did I read that correctly -- the shooter had previously been involved with the baby's mother? So they weren't really keeping the best company themselves. Poor lil' baby -- never stood a chance.

G X

Two eyes for an eye.

antimisogynycrusader

I'm just so saddened to know that this little girl has to start off her young life without sight in one eye.....

RadioGagarin

It's manageable, I do it as I was born with an eye defect so it was gone from the beginning. This poor kid lost her sight for a much more tragic reason, though, so I hope she ends up living a full and happy life despite this ridiculous incident.

izzy isou

I may be wrong, but in my opinion, many of these neighborhoods put up with these criminal types without doing anything about it, without ever voicing their complaints, after all, it is "the hood", and then a tragic event like this occurs and everyone acts surprised.

BoogieDown

And you'd be a real tough guy in the face of death threats against you and your family?

izzy isou

Tough guy? Death threats? Do you understand the concept of 'anonymously' calling the police about criminal activity in your neighborhood? No, you probably don't. And let me guess? Your reply will include something about not trusting the police. Am I right? It's morons like you, and their fear mongering, that keeps bad neighborhoods in check. Good job. Now, where can I mail you your "Stop Snitching" T-shirt?

BoogieDown

Excuse me, but I hate the "no snitching" bullshit more than just about anyone you'll ever meet. However, I wasn't born into a culture pervaded by constant fear. I'm not making excuses for people not doing more to stop this insanity, but I understand that threats from heavily-armed gang bangers (i.e. terrorists) will keep many good people from seeking help. These assholes need to be treated under the law as the terrorists that they are. Hit 'em with the full impact of the laws we reserve for "Islamic extremists", who, by the way, kill a hell of a lot fewer Americans than these street-level terrorists.

m015094

Snitches get stitches

Sarah Pappalardo

Recidivism at its worst.

whitecastlerock

This motherfucking piece of shit was recently paroled after serving time for shooting someone over sneakers and an xbox. No reason for this scum to be on the streets in the first place...

torchTheMall

19 and already of no value to society. he will make a great piece of ass for the prison population though.

Greg

Holy shit do the cops need to get the guns the fuck out these animals hands

theevilerone

Damn. That photo makes my heart hurt.

Elderta2

What happened to her little hands? Did they cover them so that she wouldn't pull out tubes and stuff?

ishtar_79

I'm guessing that's what it is. I have a picture of me hospitalized as a baby with similar gloves.

Elderta2

Thanks. Such a sad picture. I hope whatever happened to you wasn't nearly as traumatic. :(

ishtar_79

Heck no! I was just one of those unluckly babies that had every common childhood disease imaginable before I was 6 weeks. From then on it's been smooth sailing. :-)