1-Year-Old Shot, Dad Of Antiq Hennis Not Talking To Police But Gunman Tentatively ID’d

Brownsville, Brooklyn was rocked as slain one-year-old Antiq Hennis was shot to death in his stroller in what was an unusually brutal crime this weekend.

Hennis’ father Anthony, 21, is believed to have been the target in the incident that saw baby Antiq killed after he was struck in the side of the face with a bullet.

But the New York Timesreports that after the one-year-old was shot at the corner of Livonia and Bristol in the Marcus Garvey Village houses, father Anthony was silent about who may have targeted him and shot the boy instead.

The paper notes that the suspected gang activity involved is part of a larger “challenge faced by homicide detectives in New York City’s most violent precincts: getting witnesses and even victims to give useful information about shooting suspects.”

Police commissioner Ray Kelly told press yesterday the grieving father has “not answered questions,” but Hennis did speak to reporters Monday about the horrific incident in which baby Antiq was shot and killed Labor Day weekend.

Hennis, 21, spoke quietly as he tried to process his son’s killing, saying:

“My son is gone… There’s pictures of him everywhere, but my son is gone.”

ABC reports that police have tentatively identified a man they believe may be responsible for the one-year-old’s killing, citing gang conflicts and the likely targeting of Anthony Hennis as a motive in the shooting of Antiq:

“Authorities say they have the street name of the shooter, and community leaders and police are urging him to surrender… Sources say the suspect has served time in jail and may have been recently released from prison.”

The one-year-old shot is not the only child to sustain a gunshot wound in Brooklyn this summer. Before Antiq Hennis was killed, another child, 3, was critically wounded in Ditmas Park.