Pittsburgh Community Remembers 1-Year-Old Boy Shot, Killed In Spring Hill
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- A 1-year-old baby boy who was killed in the crossfire of a shootout was remembered by the Pittsburgh community.
Police say Zykier Young was sleeping on Monday when a bullet went through a window and two walls before striking him.
His family is now pleading for whoever killed him to come forward as heartbroken community members gathered Wednesday to support the grief-stricken grandparents and family of Zykier.
"Didn't get a chance to grow up in the love of a family that was full of love," said Dorothy Stubbs, the pastor of New Evangelistic Ministries.
Police say the shootout at the Three Rivers Manor apartment complex on Rhine Place just after 6 p.m. led to the baby boy being struck by a bullet. Police say Young was sleeping in his bed when he was shot. Police officers drove him to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
"An athlete that didn't get to be on the field, a scholar that didn't even get a chance to pick up a book," said Andrew Dent, the pastor of Canan Baptist Church.
Police say neither the baby nor his family was the intended target.
"When one of us hurts, we all hurt and I believe we need each other in times like these in order to survive," said Stubbs.
The family told KDKA that Young was shot and killed just two weeks after his father, Eugene Young, died tragically at the age of 27. Friends and family urge anyone who knows anything about Zykier's death to come forward.
"When we say Black lives matter, we need to show that Black lives matter and not just walk and talk about it," Stubbs told KDKA.
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Balloons in white and for the baby's first birthday were released into the sky above Northview Heights on Wednesday.
The family told KDKA that the baby's 19-year-old mother needs a lot of love, support and prayer.
