As officials work to keep crime levels from escalating, victims and families all across the city are living with the daily impact of gun violence, long after their stories fade from the headlines.
Among them is Jayden Grant, whose life was changed forever when he was struck by a stray bullet.
“It’s been a rough road, it’s been a rough road,” said Bessie Watson, Jayden Grant’s grandmother, who’s checking in on him via Zoom. It’s immediately clear that Jayden Grant isn’t one to complain.
“I’m good,” said Grant. “It’s been good.
“At times he has feeling below his waist and at times he don’t, but he’s still not able to move below the waist,” explained Watson.
Still, Grant, who’s just 14, knows he wants to be an athlete when he grows up.
“A basketball player,” said Grant, finding ways to adjust and adapt three years after the shooting that left him paralyzed.
Jayden was just 11 years old back in 2019 when Angel Eaddy opened fire on a crowded Schenectady Avenue in Crown Heights. He missed his intended target, but Jayden, who had just gotten a haircut for his 5th grade graduation ceremony, was struck in the chest by a stray bullet. Eaddy was sentenced to 10 years in prison for assault and attempted murder. Having watched her son face daunting obstacles with a positive attitude, Jayden’s mom remains in awe.
“You don’t really see the strength in a child like this at so young in his age, but he gives me hope,” said Baakiyah Ramkisoon.
Watson said it’s been tough for Jayden.
“Not being able to run around, do everything that his brothers are doing, and to see how his brothers are thriving with little girls and their little issues and him not being able to be a part of that,” Watson said. “So these formative teenage years, he never really got a chance to really able bodily be in it.”
Jayden and his family know all too well the toll shootings take on victims and their loved ones.
This is one of many incidents in the 77th precinct where shootings have gone up over the past five years. In fact, roughly two weeks after speaking to Jayden and his family, Adiyb Ramkisoon, Jayden's uncle, was shot and killed on St. John’s Place near Troy Avenue, just two blocks away from where Jayden was shot.
In 2016, there were 26 shootings in the 77th precinct, compared to 42 last year, a 62% increase. The trend appears in several of the surrounding neighborhoods like the 71st, 73rd and 79th precincts where shootings have increased since 2016.
“It’s still going on,” said Watson. “It’s still so scary. Every time I hear of a young Black man, a young Black child getting injured, your mind goes back to that day.”
With this latest shooting tragedy, the family is reeling once again and trying to find a way to support Jayden through yet another difficult time.
“It’s the day-to-day to care for a child that was once able bodied, and now you have to care for him like he’s an infant again. The mental, physical and financial toll is astronomical and it will go on for years,” said Watson.