Water Gun Fight Turns Deadly Amid Heat Wave... 17-Year-Old Boy Shot and Killed in New York

An unusual heat wave continues in New York, United States, where a water gun fight among teenagers escalated into an actual shooting, resulting in the death of a 17-year-old boy.

Victim of the shooting incident Darrell Harris (17) and the water gun found at the scene. Photo captured from New York Post SNS

On June 25 (local time), the New York Post reported that Darrell Harris (17) was shot in the head and right arm and died in a park in New York the previous day. On the day of the incident, temperatures in New York City approached 38 degrees Celsius, with the heat wave persisting. It was reported that many teenagers had gathered in the park and nearby streets to enjoy water gun fights in the sweltering weather.

According to the New York State Police, the altercation began when Harris asked another boy to stop spraying water on his head during the ongoing water gun fight. The verbal dispute escalated into a physical confrontation, during which another friend who was with the boy pulled out a real gun and shot Harris. Harris was transported to a nearby hospital in critical condition but ultimately died.

The suspect who fired the gun reportedly fled the scene immediately after the crime and is currently wanted by the authorities. Police found a bladed weapon, four spent shell casings, and several water guns at the scene.

Harris’s mother, Kelly Lewis, said in an interview with the media, “My son told me he was going to the park because his friends were having a water gun fight,” and added, “He promised he would be home by 9 o’clock.” She tearfully said, “Harris was not a child who usually went out,” and “Isn’t it only natural for kids to want to play with water when it’s this hot?”

Lewis lost her eldest son to a street shooting in 2021, and now she has suffered the tragedy of losing her second son to another shooting incident.

Meanwhile, the United States has been experiencing a record-breaking heat wave this month. On June 25, the temperature in Central Park, Manhattan, New York, nearly reached 37.2 degrees Celsius, marking the highest temperature in 13 years since July 18, 2012. As the heat wave continues, cases of heat-related illnesses and even casualties are being reported in various places.