Suspect Charged in Stray-Bullet Shooting That Killed 1-Year-Old Baby in Brooklyn

A man has been charged for the fatal shooting of 1-year-old Davell Gardner, who was hit by a stray bullet near a New York City playground last summer, the New York Post reports. Dashawn Austin, 25, allegedly shot the child and three other men during a nighttime cookout at Raymond Bush Playground in Brooklyn last July. Gardner was two months away from his second birthday when he was killed. Police said the three other men were expected to survive. Austin faces multiple charges, including murder, conspiracy, and weapons, according to The New York Times. The indictment on Thursday charges dozens of men, including Austin, for a string of gang-related violence. Austin and the others charged are believed to be a member of the Hoolies, the Times said.

Austin has a history of violence. Just days after he shot Gardner, he was arrested for killing Janile Whitted, a 26-year-old bouncer who worked at a Bedford-Stuyvesant strip club. In 2009, he was charged with robbery, and two years later with gun possession, according to the newspaper.