Mira Wassef is a digital reporter who has covered news and sports in the New York City area for more than a decade. She joined PIX11 News in 2022. See more of her work here.
Suspect in custody in teen's fatal shooting in SoHo: sources
Editor’s note: The story in the video player aired on May 8, 2024.
SOHO, Manhattan (PIX11) -- A suspect is in police custody in connection to the fatal shooting of a 16-year-old boy in SoHo last week, according to law enforcement sources.
Mahki Brown was shot in the head and in Urban Plaza, a courtyard located across from 233 Spring St. between Varick Street and Sixth Avenue in SoHo, at around 2:30 p.m. on May 7, according to the NYPD.
The suspect has not been charged, sources said.
Brown stepped in to try to be a peacemaker during an argument between two groups that stemmed from an ongoing dispute between two teenage girls, according to police. The students attend Broome Street Academy Charter High School, police said.
There were about 30 people in the courtyard during the fight when Brown intervened before he was shot in the head and the leg, according to NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny. The teen was not the intended target.
"He was the kind of guy that would have stepped in to help anybody," Kenny said.
The shooter and a second suspect arrived at the scene on a CitiBike and fled the area on the same bike, police said. Investigators believe the suspects are members of a gang.
It was unclear if the suspect in police custody was the shooter. The second suspect remained at large.
This is a developing story. Refresh the page for updates.
Submit tips to police by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), visiting crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, downloading the NYPD Crime Stoppers mobile app, or texting 274637 (CRIMES) then entering TIP577. Spanish-speaking callers are asked to dial 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).