In the wake of a horrific tragedy, charitable Brooklynites are offering up funds to support the family of a 17-year-old boy who was fatally stabbed in broad daylight last Friday in Coney Island.
The gruesome scene unfolded near a Rite Aid at West 30th Street and Mermaid Avenue at around 3:20 p.m. on Jan. 20, when the knife-wielding murderer slashed Nyheem Wright in his torso.
Paramedics rushed the teen to Maimonides Medical Center for treatment, but doctors later pronounced him dead.
Police have not yet made any arrests in the case as of Monday, and the search continues to find Wright’s killer, according to an NYPD spokesperson.
According to the Daily News, the killing may have been gang-related, and stemmed from Wright sticking up for a girl whom the attackers were assailing.
Two days after the brutal murder, Nyheem’s mother, Simone Brooks, launched a GoFundMe to raise money for his funeral expenses, and to “help aid in funding to support the journey ahead of seeking justice for Nyheem Wright.”
“A mother heartbroken carrying the task of burying her son, and advocating for justice in hopes it will bring an ounce of peace to her surviving sons,” Brooks wrote on the fundraiser.
As of Monday afternoon, the fundraiser had collected $837 out of a stated goal of $15,000.
Brooks said her son, who was due to graduate high school in March, worked “as hard as any ambitious kid determined to write his own narrative,” and described her late son as someone who “brought life when he entered a room, and that life is what we vow to honor as his family.”
“Please help our family raise funds as a community to give Nyheem the proper burial his beautiful spirit deserves, and help aid in funding to support the journey ahead of seeking justice for Nyheem Wright,” Brooks wrote.
Those looking to contribute to the fundraiser may do so at the verified GoFundMe webpage.
