A four-month-old baby boy was caught in the middle of an ugly turf war between rival gangs on Saturday night. That baby boy, Leroy Rhaburn Jr., and his mother Lisa Garoy are both in the hospital tonight while his father was jailed this afternoon. Keith Swift reports on how a baby boy got caught in the line of fire and the role his family played in it.
Cynthia Gentle,Mother of Shooting Victim
I couldn't believe it. Like I said it was like a movie I think. Every time I shut my eyes I just see that man in front of me cranking up that gun and like we are helpless and we can't do nothing, nothing."
As hard as she tries, Cynthia Gentle cannot escape Saturday night's terror. This is her four-month-old grandson Leroy Jr. With his angelic face, he appears to be a normal child sleeping but little Leroy Rhaburn Jr. might lose the use of one of his arm. And believe it or not, that's the good news: Cynthia's daughter and Leroy's mother, Lisa Garoy is upstairs in the surgical ward paralyzed on a bed. All this is the aftermath of a shooting inside Taylor's Alley on Saturday night. Cynthia says all of them were sitting outside of her home around 12:40 am when a gunman appeared.
Cynthia Gentle,
"I saw somebody standing up in front of us. I thought it was somebody passing through the alley, I didn't think a gunman came to kill us. The man cranked up the gun in front of us and started to fire the shot. Before he fired the shot he said, 'all a unu will die,' and he fired the shot. I didn't know that my daughter got shot. I thought only the baby was hit. Someone came out and I gave them the baby. Then I went to my daughter to see what went on with her and I was picking her up and while doing that, I just feel the lot of blood coming from her and I didn't know from here. So I let her go again and I ran and I asked for someone to come and help me, 'help help me, my daughter got shot. Lisa got shot.'
By the time it was over seven shots from a 9-millimeter gun had been fired.
One hit baby Leroy in his upper right arm; one hit Lisa Garoy in her abdomen, and a third hit 27-year-old Jason Rudon in his left knee. The most badly hurt were Lisa and her son.
Cynthia Gentle,
"The baby? They say that he might lose his arm."
Jacqueline Woods, Channel 5
What are the doctors telling you?
Lisa Garoy, Shooting Victim
"They don't know if I'll walk again. I miss my pickney deh (children). I want to go home. I want to get better and go home to my pickney."
Cynthia Gentle,
"They say that she will never walk again. She doesn't deserve this because she doesn't do anyone anything. She doesn't interfere with anyone, she doesn't go anywhere. If she wants to buy she asks one of us to buy for her. She doesn't go anywhere. No one knows her. "
Jason Rudon,
"The young man was just shooting wild. He just started firing when he reached there."
Keith Swift,
Where were you hit?
Jason Rudon,
"In my foot right here and it bust through here."
Jason Rudon escaped from the shooting with a fractured knee. He says he has
no idea why they were shot. And though police say the shooting might have been in retaliation but all the victims dispute that.
Jules Vasquez,
In what direction where they shooting?
Jason Rudon,
In my directions, towards me and she was right bes8ide me and her mom was beside her."
Keith Swift,
Why would they go after you?
Jason Rudon,
"I don't know. I live around there but I didn't do no one nothing."
Keith Swift,
They said it was retaliation.
Jason Rudon,
"I don't know about that. I know I didn't do anybody anything. I don't know about any retaliation. People are saying its retaliation and i don't know about retaliation. I don't know who told them to come and shoot or nothing but whosoever do the retaliation, they will know that who."
Cynthia Gentle,
"I noh really know about that. I really don't know about that. I don't know what happened, what went on first. All I know is that they have my son hold, two of my son they have hold. For what reason, I don't know."
Keith Swift,
You feel you got off easy because Lisa and her son got the brunt of the injury?
Jason Rudon,
"That mek i feel bad."
But Cynthia Gentle feels more than bad, this grandmother and mother is mad that someone would open fire on a four month old child.
Cynthia Gentle,
"He saw this poor baby, this innocent baby. He can't say he didn't see him because when he stand up in font of me, he cranked up that gun in front of me so he had enough time to think that this was a poor innocent baby and he shouldn't do that to we. I want them to find the person and I want him to punish for this. I don't want to send him to jail because it doesn't make any sense to send him to jail. I want somebody make him come and punish the same way how this poor innocent baby is punishing. I want somebody to please help and stop the crime that is going on the street because innocent people are getting hurt and they don't deserve it. My daughter doesn't deserve this.
They are doing this thing over and over because when they do these kind of things they get off free. The first thing they will holler is they don't have enough evidence. This is enough evidence for someone to do this to a poor baby like this. This is enough evidence that they need. They don't need anything more than this."
Four nine millimeter expended shells were recovered from the scene. 20- year-old Brandel Michael who is a bailiff at the City Council's Municipal Court
has been charged with four counts of attempted murder. In addition he is facing three counts of dangerous harm and use of deadly means of harm on Lisa Garoy, Leroy Rhaburn Jr., and Jason Rudon. There is an additional count of aggravated assault on Cynthia Gentle. In court today Chief Magistrate Herbert Lord told Michael that he would have to wait until April 4th to apply for bail. Police are still looking for the other two men who were with Michael at the time of the shooting.
