A third man has been arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of a 4-year-old boy during a basketball tournament in the Bronx.
Police on Friday charged 19-year-old Ronald Jeffrey of the Bronx with murder, attempted murder and criminal possession of a weapon.
The boy, Lloyd Morgan, died July 22.
Police say about 13 rounds were fired from either side of the court and adjacent playground, where Lloyd was standing with his mother. She wasn't injured.
Police have also charged 17-year-old Rondell Pinkerton with murder and criminal possession of a weapon. Twenty-six-year-old Courtney Kelly of the Bronx, who was wounded in the shootout, was charged with criminal possession of a weapon.
A 21-year-old man was also wounded in the shootout. Information on Jeffrey's lawyer was not immediately available.
Pinkerton said he fired in self-defense after someone else fired at him. Police told NBC 4 New York the shooting was in retaliation for a shooting the previous night, and may have had to do with low-level marijuana dealing.
"It is obviously a very sad situation when you have a 17-year-old admitting to the fact that he fired shots where a 4-year-old was killed," Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said.
Detectives believe the shooting involved four members of one group against another person, sources said.
The gunfire broke out on a basketball court during a game that was being played as part of a memorial for a victim of violence, a woman who died here more than a year ago, residents said.
Morgan was struck in the head by a stray bullet and pronounced dead at a nearby hospital a short time later.
Morgan's mother Shianne Norman appeared with community leaders at a prayer vigil Thursday, sobbing as she tried to speak.
"They got to stop taking babies," she said.
Lloyd's shooting was part of a rash of violence that has plagued the city in recent weeks. Friday, a
14-year-old boy was found shot in the back of the head
Local
in Haffen Park , also in the Bronx.
Get the latest from NBC 4 New York anytime, anywhere. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google+. Get our apps here and sign up for email newsletters here. Get breaking news delivered right to your phone -- just text NYBREAKING to 639710. For more info, text HELP. To end, text STOP. Message and data rates may apply.
