A Brooklyn man was found guilty on Friday of shooting a young teen in the eye while targeting a rival back in 2014, Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said.
Gama Droiville, who was 13 at the time, was waiting for the bus near Flatbush Avenue and Beverley Road on April 14, 2014, when prosecutors said Kareem Potomont opened fire just before noon.
Droiville, who was with his aunt and cousin at the time, was hit in the right eye. Potomont’s intended target, identified by police as Eduardo Dolphy, was hit in the leg, the district attorney’s office said.
Droiville lost his vision in the eye and underwent multiple surgeries to fix the damage, but ultimately the eye was removed, Gonzalez’s office said.
“This defendant, who opened fire on a busy street in broad daylight, forever changed the life of an innocent boy who lost an eye,” Gonzalez said in an emailed statement. “It’s truly a miracle that he survived. The defendant will now spend many years in prison to pay for his abhorrent actions.”
Following his arrest, Potomont denied any involvement with the shooting despite surveillance video of him firing the weapon at the scene.
Shortly after the shooting, Droiville, a choirboy at French Speaking Baptist Church, said he had one thing to say to the gunman: “Jesus loves you and I forgive you.”
Potomont was found guilty on Friday of assault, attempted assault, reckless endangerment and criminal possession of a weapon. He is due in court for sentencing on Sept. 22, 2017, and faces up to 40 years in prison, the district attorney’s office said.
With Alison Fox
