16-year-old Nigerian boy shot dead in the US while playing basketball

A 16-year-old Nigerian boy playing basketball at a Brooklyn park was fatally shot in the head last Friday.

 

Timothy Oyebola lived in Jamaica, Queens and attended Brooklyn Ascend HS. Police said he was likely not the intended target.

 

He was in the Chester Playground in Brownsville at 4 p.m. when he was gunned down.

 

Police found two bullets casing in the park and believe the suspects fired shots 100 feet away from the basketball courts where Timothy was playing. 

 

“As they were playing, shots were fired into the park. The shots were fired quite a distance away — over 100 feet,” said NYPD Deputy Chief Michael Kemper.

 

"He was a really, really good good, " Kemper added. "This is a very unfortunate act. There is a strong possibility he was not the intended target"

 

 

 

 

The high-achieving academic teen and his sister came to the US from Lagos in 2013. He was his parents only son. 

 

“My son was a calm, quiet, obedient child,” the teen's grieving dad, David Oyebola said. 

 

“He’s intelligent. He loved sports and basketball. Very ambitious. He’s a boy who had a brighter future. He was constantly going for what he wanted to do in life. He wanted to become a doctor or an engineer."

 

David said his son was set to be recognised for his academic achievement at Columbia University. 

 

"They expect him there on November 10 but I m going to be there for him" he said. 

 

The community gathered for a prayer vigil in Oyebola's memory on Saturday night. 

 

"I just need an answer, I just need an answer, " David said.