By SÍLE MOLONEY

BRONX BOROUGH PRESIDENT Vanessa Gibson speaks to reporters on Wednesday night, Feb. 11, 2026, at West 238th Street and Broadway in the Kingsbridge section of The Bronx, following a fatal shooting of a 16-year-old student and the nonfatal shooting of two other teens earlier the same evening. 
Photo courtesy of the Citizens’ App

Bronx elected officials are sharing their reaction to the fatal shooting of 16-year-old Christopher Redding in the Kingsbridge section of the Bronx on Wednesday evening and the nonfatal shooting of two other teens, who remain hospitalized at St. Barnabas Hospital in Belmont.

 

As reported, the shooting took place at around 5.10 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 11, at the corner of West 238th Street and Broadway and police were searching Wednesday night for a group of suspects who appear to have fled the scene in the direction of Sedgwick Avenue. Read our initial story on the shooting here.

 

Speaking to reporters at the crime scene later on Wednesday night, Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson said in part, “We have too much violence among young adults. My heart goes out to the family and of course, we are also working with the school community, at the high school that this teenager attended, as well as the others and we’re offering support and counseling.”

 

Gibson continued, “We also have to make sure that we prevent any form of retaliation because I assure you that this shooting, the young man that lost his life…everything is on social media and there are two sides. There’s a side that could be celebrating this as a good thing and there’s a side that’s not celebrating and they’re angry and when anger erupts, it is a disaster.”

POLICE CARRY OUT a ballistics investigation following a fatal shooting on West 238th Street and Broadway in the Kingsbridge section of The Bronx on Wednesday evening, Feb. 11, 2026. 
Photo by David Greene

She added, “So, we have to make sure that we have all hands on deck when it comes to the Kingsbridge community, as well as the school community where the teenagers attended, supporting the staff and the students at [inaudible], and really making sure that everyone is good, but this is not [inaudible / new for us?]. I want to remind folks that this is one shooting among so many that we face in The Bronx, and it’s a call to action and attention, and a part of me needs to understand further what young people are going through that they engage in conflict and violence that ultimately turns deadly.”

 

The borough president went on to say that the situation was not acceptable. “A young man lost his life tonight. A parent, parents were notified that their child did not return home safely as they left earlier this morning, and so, we have to, as parents, mourn the loss of this young man but we also have to say to ourselves, what more can we do? Incredible messengers all across our borough, people that see incidents of violence that are afraid to come forward… we have to make it easier.”

 

She added, “We have to protect their identity and keep them safe. This is a working class community here in Kingsbridge. We have businesses here on 238th Street that have to close their doors [inaudible/tonight?]. Patrons had to leave. Like, I’m heartbroken. I’m so upset that this had to happen in this fashion here…three teenagers were shot and….[inaudible due to wind and subway]. So, as borough president, I’m always working. I’m always working. That is why I am here on scene tonight because my heart breaks as borough president but also, as someone who is raising children in my own family.”

 

She continued, “This could be my son, right, and I also want to make sure that we do our part, so we have to have the conversations, we have to be in schools. We have to [inaudible/build community?], we have to look at more resources, but we also have to look at how we can prevent these types of incidents from ever happening again. And it’s sad to say that this is just one of so many that has occurred in this borough, and we know, unfortunately, that we may have another act of violence and that’s what bothers me even more.”

 

She added, “Just yesterday, a man was shot and killed on a subway platform in this borough; that is unacceptable. And so, I want to let the residents of The Bronx know that we are doing everything we can to protect the residents of this borough, and if it means we need to be [inaudible], then that’s what we have to do, because everything has to be on the line, because everything is on the line. Our children, our friends, our older adults, innocent people are victims in this society that is plagued by violence, and it’s happening right here in our borough.”

 

On Feb. 12, Gibson added, “I want to thank the NYPD, first responders, and emergency medical personnel for continuing to respond with care and compassion under these heartbreaking circumstances.”

MAJOR CRIME STATISTICS for The Bronx for the 28-day period ending Feb. 8, 2026, compared to last year (left), and year-to-date major crime statistics for The Bronx as of Feb. 8, 2026, compared to last year (right).  
Source: NYPD

Indeed, the borough president is no stranger to responding to tragedies involving people of all ages across The Bronx, but many of them teens and children. As reported, just in the last six months, a 15-year-old was stabbed aboard an MTA bus in Baychester in December 2025. The same month, a teen was slashed at a Fordham School and a second teen was charged.

 

In November 2025, the community mourned a Bronx teen who was murdered in Brooklyn. In October 2025, a man was sought for the nonfatal shooting of two female teens in Van Cortlandt Park. In September 2025, two teens were sought after a 44-year-old woman was hospitalized following a Fordham Heights shooting.

 

In Westchester Square in late August 2025, four teens aged 13 to 15, were injured during a nonfatal shooting. In Norwood, in early August, five people were arrested and four were charged following the fatal stabbing in the Williamsbridge Oval park of 14-year-old Ángel Miguel Mendoza Hernández. A 17-year-old male teen was also stabbed during the same gang assault.

NEW CAMERAS ARE seen being installed by the NYPD at the entrance to the Williamsbridge Oval park in Norwood Monday, Feb. 9, 2026.
Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Quaranta

Around a week later, when young people gathered in the Oval as part of a healing circle to process their grief, they were interrupted by a group of young bikers, seemingly in an act of intimidation.

 

Meanwhile, the stabbing underscored the need for the swift installation of requested security cameras at the Oval recreation center, as reported. These have since been installed inside and outside, and more cameras were also recently seen being installed by the NYPD at the entrance to the Oval on Feb. 9. Another NYPD camera had already been installed near the Oval basketball court last year. Read more on the incident here.

 

As also reported, one way of potentially saving lives after a violent incident is to train more people on how to stop a bleed fast, in the vital moments and seconds after a massive injury occurs, such as a stabbing or a gunshot wound, and before emergency services get to the scene.

 

Gibson frequently partners with Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark on different gun violence prevention efforts, like rallies, as reported. Local youth centers like Mosholu Montefiore Community Center have also marched against gun violence.

 

Meanwhile, the 52nd Precinct has also taken steps to tackle the plague of gun violence by addressing it from other angles like quality-of-life issues in severely affected communities. Earlier this week, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch announced that the NYPD’s Bronx borough command will be divided into Bronx North and Bronx South in early spring, mirroring the situation in Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn, in efforts to better address crime.

MAJOR CRIME STATISTICS for the 50th Precinct for the 28-day period ending Feb. 8 2026, compared to last year (left), and year-to-date major crime statistics for the 50th Precinct as of Feb. 8, 2026, compared to last year (right). This precinct covers some or all of Kingsbridge, Fieldston, Riverdale, Marble Hill, and Spuyten Duyvil.
Source: NYPD

Meanwhile, in terms of other Bronx messengers, as reported, several cure violence groups, including Bronx Rises Against Gun Violence (B.R.A.G.), Release the Grip (RTG), Save our Streets (S.O.S.) and others actively and successfully work on an ongoing basis to prevent retaliation when shootings occur, particularly among gang members. B.R.A.G. were recently honored again for their work, receiving the Key to the City of New York from former NYC Mayor Eric Adams. Read more about their work here, here and here.

 

Bronx teens, themselves, are also working to address gun violence in their own way, as reported. Additionally, the Bronx-based Angellyh Yambo Foundation is also working hard to curb the proliferation of ghost guns and, with Congressman Ritchie Torres (NY-15), has worked on the introduction of the Angellyh Yambo Gun Free Zone Law.

 

Torres said of the latest shooting, “Heartbroken by the senseless killing of 16-year-old Christopher Redding and the shooting of two other young people in Kingsbridge. The Bronx must be a place where kids feel safe walking home, not a place where violence cuts lives short. I urge anyone with information to come forward to law enforcement so there can be accountability and justice.”

 

When it comes to school safety, specifically, as reported, in 2022, one Bronx mom was left enraged and shaken after a 17-year-old was arrested for gun possession inside a Harlem School her kids attended. Meanwhile some Bronx students, including Sistas & Brothas United, the youth arm of local nonprofit, Northwest Bronx Community & Clergy Coalition, and some adults often rail against the presence of metal detectors in schools, while other concerned parents call for more security. Read more on the topic of school safety here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

 

Mayor crime statistics for both The Bronx as a whole, and the 50th Precinct, where the latest shooting occurred, are attached.

 

Councilman Eric Dinowitz (C.D. 11) who represents Kingsbridge, among other neighborhoods, said of the latest shooting, “Gun violence is a plague on our society, taking the lives of young people across our city, and tonight, in my own district, I am horrified that a shooting at West 238th Street and Broadway left two teenagers injured and a 16-year-old dead. I have been in contact with the NYPD, the school the murdered child attended, and the superintendent.”

 

He added, “Guns in the hands of high school students should never be the reality, and we must put an end to this senseless violence. With a new mayoral administration, we have an opportunity to address this crisis once and for all. My colleagues and I in the City Council will do everything we can to support an anti-gun violence agenda that addresses the root causes and saves lives.”

 

Morgan Evers, who is challenging Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (A.D. 81) to his seat in the Northwest Bronx, which includes Kingsbridge, also shared her reaction, saying, “I am devastated by the news of a 16-year-old Christopher Redding who was killed, and two teens even younger injured, last night from a shooting in Kingsbridge.”

 

She added, “This, alongside news of two other teens injured in a violent stabbing by Marie Curie High School… My heart goes out to the victims’ families & our Kingsbridge community. As we process this news, I commit to working w/ my fellow organizers so that these tragedies are not swept aside as yet another NYC shooting/stabbing stat. More to come…. “

POLICE RESPOND TO a multiple shooting at 238th Street and Broadway in Kingsbridge, The Bronx on Feb. 11, 2026. Video by Síle Moloney

Back in Kingsbridge on Wednesday night, the borough president could later be heard speaking to a young girl who was on her way home and seemed to be having difficulties accessing it likely due to the streets being blocked off around the crime scene. “I’m so sorry. I can’t even imagine what you must be thinking right now,” Gibson told the young girl in relation to her reaction to the shooting.

 

Gibson then asked her, “Are you with your mom and dad?” The young girl said she was not. “Oh, you’re by yourself? How old are you?” Gibson asked. “Ten,” the young girl replied. Gibson then said, “10? Ok, where do you live?” The girl replied, “Just right up there” [on West 238th and Bailey]. The girl said she attended P.S. 30. “Oh ok, I know P.S. 30,” Gibson said, “Don’t worry. We’re going to help you.”

 

For more on this topic, click here, here, here, and here.