The grandmother of Kaori Patterson-Moore, the 7-month-old girl shot dead Wednesday while sitting in her stroller in Brooklyn, said she forgives the shooter.
Linda Oyinkoinyan and her husband are both pastors. She said that while they are heartbroken, they both forgive the people involved.
“She was innocent”
“Violence, revenge, that’s not what we do here. We pray,” she said. “We forgive them. We’re praying they get saved and God have mercy on them and help them.”
Her forgiveness does not change her heartbreak.
“It’s a baby. This is my little baby angel. She had nothing. She was innocent,” Oyinkoinyan said.
“Why would someone take a gun and point it at a stroller? A stroller?” Koari’s grandfather Godsking Oyinkoinyan said.
Linda Oyinkoinyan says her family is changed forever.
“Words cannot explain how I feel. I don’t know what to do. I can’t eat, I can’t sleep,” Oyinkoinyan said. “This hits home. You see this all around the world. You never think it will hit your doorstep right here. This little baby angel. She was just beginning to walk. She was so intelligent.”
Kaori Patterson-Moore was sitting in her stroller when she was struck and killed by a stray bullet in Brooklyn.
Linda Oyinkoinyan
Oyinkoinyan described talking to Kaori’s older brother, who was grazed in the back by shrapnel during the gun violence.
“He said, ‘Sister is sleeping, oh God, sister is sleeping, grandma,'” Oyinkoinyan said. “So I tell everyone out there, gun violence is not the answer. It just keeps trickling down, people shooting, getting killed.”
The family is now planning Kaori’s funeral.
Suspect to face murder charges
The alleged gunman, identified by police as Amari Green, 21, remains hospitalized. He’s expected to face murder and two counts of attempted murder charges.
The New York City Police Department is asking for help identifying two individuals wanted in connection with the shooting that killed a baby in Brooklyn.
DCPI
According to police, Green was one of two people on a moped as it approached the intersection of Moore and Humboldt Streets Wednesday afternoon. Green, police say, was sitting behind the moped driver, and he allegedly opened fire at a group of people, including children, at the intersection of Moore and Humboldt Streets in East Williamsburg.
The moped crashed into an oncoming car as the two fled the scene, police said. Both were thrown from the moped. Green was hospitalized and arrested.
Police said they know who the driver of the moped was, but haven’t yet released his name. He’s not in custody yet.
Police believe the shooting was gang related, and that Kaori was not the intended target.
Anyone with any information is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). You can also submit a tip via their website or via DM on Twitter, @NYPDTips. All calls are kept confidential.