The tragic murder of 15-year-old Brandon Bethea triggered the investigation that led to a massive gang takedown in Queens. Bethea was killed by a stray bullet in 2008 in a Far Rockaway project, shot by a gang member firing into a crowd. The gunman's arrest sparked a wiretap investigation that took down 104 people identifying with "Flocc," a gang alliance between members of the Crips and the Bloods. "It was that investigation that got us up on the phones as we learned about the [gang] activity in that area," Deputy Chief Robert Boyce told the Daily News. more ›

The family of the 15-year-old girl who was fatally shot in front of a Queens housing project says they had moved out of the project to escape the violence. Brandon Bethea was killed late Saturday night when she was visiting friends at the Redfern Houses; she had been dancing with friends in a courtyard. more ›

A 15-year-old girl who was shot in the head yesterday died from her injuries. No arrests have been made in the shooting, but Brandon Bethea was shot shortly before midnight on Redfern Ave. in Queens. She was taken to St. Johns Hospital, but did not survive. Bethea had returned to her old neighborhood in Far Rockaway in order to find a dress for her junior prom, when she was shot. The girl seems to have been a random victim after a man opened fire on a crowd in the street. One resident was despondent about the senseless violence. "All these young babies are dying over nothing." more ›