Gun-Toting NYC Teen Gets Prison Time In 15-Year-Old’s Death: NYPD

BROOKLYN, NY — A Brooklyn teen who shot and killed a 15-year-old boy whom he believed was a rival gang member has officially been sentenced and will spend decades in prison, authorities said.

Wesley Walker, 19, was found guilty of murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon following a jury trial in connection with the fatal shooting of 15-year-old Unique Smith on a Brooklyn playground.

Prosecutors said the September 2022 shooting began with an argument between Walker — identified as a member of the FNO Woo street gang — another masked individual, and Smith, whom Walker believed was affiliated with a rival gang.

Smith had been sitting on a bench in McLaughlin Park near Tillary Street and Jay Street around 1:40 p.m. The 15-year-old, a student at nearby Brooklyn Laboratory Charter School, was approached by Walker, and the two exchanged brief words before Walker shot Smith once in the stomach, prosecutors said.

The teen was rushed to Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, officials said. Police have since said there is no evidence that Smith was involved with a gang.

"Unique Smith, an innocent boy who was simply sitting in a park near his school when he was senselessly murdered. Unique’s family, friends, and community will carry this loss forever, and my heart is with them," Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said.

Trial testimony revealed that earlier that day, Walker had cut class, returned to school at dismissal, and recruited several students — including one to act as a lookout — to go to the park, where he displayed a gun and expressed his intent to use it.

Following the shooting, Walker fled the scene and remained on the run until his arrest in Binghamton, New York, on Feb. 1, 2023, police said.

"Working with the NYPD, we’ve brought gun violence in Brooklyn down to record lows, but one shooting is still one too many, and we will not rest until no family has to grieve a loved one lost to gunfire,” Gonzalez added.

Walker has been sentenced to 18 years to life in prison, prosecutors said.