Teen Girl Shot Dead By Her Boyfriend’s 15-Year-Old Brother

A 17-year-old girl was shot dead by her boyfriend's minor brother as they sat in a car in Queens, last Friday, Sept. 2.

Shantasia O’Brian,a freshman at the College of Staten Island, died just a day before her 18th birthday.

“It just makes no sense,” the victim’s mother Karen O’Brian said Sunday Sept. 4. “It makes me mad. I’m furious. I don’t know how I’m going to function.”

The shooting happened outside a house on the residential street on 136th Ave. near Brookville Blvd. in Laurelton, after Shantasia's boyfriend picked her up in his car so they could celebrate her birthday at a park, according to reports.

Her boyfriend's 15-year-old brother was sitting in the backseat and playing with a gun when the weapon suddenly went off at around 5 p.m local time, sending a bullet through the rear passenger seat, striking Shantasia’s back.

According to the New York police, the teen shooter then got out of the car, tossed the gun and got back inside.

Karen said she received a call about 12 minutes later from a man, who she presumed was her daughter's new boyfriend she had not yet met.

“He said, ‘Shantasia’s been shot’ and then hung up,” Karen said.

Karen repeatedly called back until someone finally answered. It was a female police officer who had responded to the shooting scene.

Shantasia was rushed to Jamaica Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

Two people were taken into custody for questioning and ultimately the younger brother was charged with manslaughter, reports said.

Although police did not call the shooting accidental, the charges filed against the teen imply that he fired the fatal shot by mistake.

The teen suspect, whose name was not released because of his age, was also charged with weapon possession and tampering with evidence, for getting rid of the gun, according to police.

Hewas arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court on Sunday night and ordered held at a facility run by the city Administration for Children’s Services, according to a Law Department spokesperson.