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Kareem Potomont indicted in shooting of 13-year-old boy

Kareem Potomont amny cropped
Kareem Potomont, 21, was charged with shooting 13-year-old Gama Droiville in the head and eye. Photo Credit: Theodore Parisienne
Kareem Potomont, 21, was charged with shooting 13-year-old Gama Droiville in the head and eye.
Kareem Potomont, 21, was charged with shooting 13-year-old Gama Droiville in the head and eye.

A grand jury voted Thursday to indict Kareem Potomont, accused of shooting 13-year-old Gama Droiville and a second man last week, said Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson.

Potomont, 20, was indicted on 10 charges, including two counts each of attempted murder in the second degree and assault. He was held on $200,000 bail, said a spokeswoman from the DA’s office.

Droiville, who lives in Flatbush, was an innocent bystander when he was shot by two stray bullets in the head around noon on April 14 on Flatbush Avenue near Beverly Road, police have said. He was released from Kings County Hospital on Tuesday, eight days after the shooting.

“I would like to say thank you for all the support. Thank you for all the prayers,” said Gama as he left the hospital. “And a special thank you to the NYPD for catching this guy.”

Potomont was allegedly waiting for someone to exit a vehicle, according to Thompson. Potomont allegedly started shooting once he saw that person, hitting nearby Droiville in the eye, he said.

It is unclear if Droiville will ever see out of his right eye again, said his doctor, Douglas Lazzaro, director of of ophthalmology at Kings County.

“He’s in the healing phase now,” Lazzaro said Tuesday. “It’s a serious injury and time will tell.”

Another man, Eduardo Dolphy, 24, was also shot in his leg. He was the intended target, according to court records. He walked himself to the hospital, police said.

Potomont was charged with the shooting just four days later. His lawyer, Audrey Thomas, told amNewYork that Potomont was forced to leave high school in the eleventh grade due to gang pressure.

“I think that we have a duty to consider what mitigating factors may be at issue here,” she said Thursday. “This was still a young life, this is still a child. One goes to hospital, one goes to jail and we all go about our business. This is a problem here. Let’s not just let this become a cycle.”