MIKHY ROBINSON - 2 yo - / Accused: Wakir Bryant Newark NJ

2-year-old boy fatally shot in Newark identified; shooting appears accidental

Published: Friday, December 30, 2011, 3:20 PM Updated: Friday, December 30, 2011, 11:42 PM

NEWARK — Mikhy Robinson, the 2-year-old boy killed by a gunshot to the head in Newark's South Ward
this morning, was a playful, friendly and outgoing child, according to neighbors on St. James Place, the quiet residential street where Mikhy lived with his family.

"He was loving, full of energy," said Brenton Smith, the landlord of the 4-family brick house on the 100 block of St. James where Mikhy was shot shortly before 10 a.m. "It breaks your heart to hear he's gone."

Around the same time, neighbors laid a white teddy bear, a candle and some flowers on the home's stoop to pay tribute to the slain child.

Family members stopped by the home briefly, meeting for tearful embraces in the street in front of the home. The group of six women asked to be left alone, got into a car and left.

Neighbors gathered on porches and sidewalk corners trying to make sense of the boy's death.


"He was an adorable baby boy," said a woman who lives in the apartment above the boy’s family’s residence. She said Mikhy was a frequent playmate of her sister’s son, also 2.

"They'd play together all the time," the woman said. "I'm still shaking."

The woman said she was awoken this morning by screams from the apartment.

Authorities said they are searching for a man in his 20s who might have been involved in the shooting, Newark Police Director Samuel DeMaio said.

A person familiar with the investigation says the shooting death appears to have been accidental. The person says neighbors reported hearing a man yelling "I'm so sorry" repeatedly and there was evidence
someone tried to clean blood up from the scene.

The person spoke only on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss the details of the case.

"As of now, we know for a fact the shot came from within the house," DeMaio said "There was a male that was with the child's mother when they arrived at the hospital."

A man and a woman apparently brought the child to Beth Israel Medical Center together and the man left.

Authorities are searching for a man in his 20s who was with Mikhy Robinson's mother when they brought the boy to Newark Beth Israel shortly before 10 a.m. Friday.

Police are questioning the mother and searching for the man, believed to be driving a white Pontiac Grand Prix. Investigators from the prosecutor’s office, the lead investigative agency, are also looking for
a weapon and for more witnesses.

Kim Dixon, who lives two doors from the home, said she was in her upstairs bedroom when she heard a commotion at the house.

“I heard two people arguing,” Dixon said. “I didn’t know what it was about.”

A few minutes later, police had descended on the neighborhood, she said.

The child suffered a gunshot wound to the head, the prosecutor’s office said.

Sheila Brooks, who lives next door to the home, said Mikhy’s family were pleasant.

"They're good neighbors. They'd just moved in" Brooks said of the woman her son and her mother. "What a tragedy."

One woman who gathered with about a dozen family and friends near the hospital's emergency room entrance earlier this morning declined to comment but said, "The devil wears many faces".

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/12/child_shot_in_newark.html

Questions linger in the fatal shooting of Newark toddler

Published: Saturday, December 31, 2011, 10:04 PM Updated: Sunday, January 01, 2012, 12:01 PM


The Star-LedgerWakir Bryant, left, was arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of 2-year-old Mikhy Robinson, right, in Newark.


NEWARK — The mother of 2-year-old Mikhy Robinson was awakened by the sound of a gunshot in her Newark apartment.


A moment later, she found her boyfriend, Wakir Bryant, and her
fatally wounded child both covered in blood, a person familiar with the
Friday morning shooting said Saturday. Bryant was repeating the haunting
words "I’m so sorry."

Those were the final stark moments of Mikhy’s short life, the source
said of what officials have called the "senseless" death of the adored
2-year-old. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the
investigation is ongoing.

Authorities are now looking for answers after Bryant, 27, was found
and arrested late Friday night. He had been sought in connection with
the boy’s death after he dropped Mikhy and his mother off at Newark Beth
Israel Medical Center and left the scene.

About 12 hours after Mikhy was pronounced dead, Bryant was arrested
without incident at 10:30 p.m. Friday in the 400 block of South 16th
Street, according to Anthony Ambrose, chief of investigators for the
Essex County Prosecutor’s Office. Ambrose cited the combined efforts of
the prosecutor’s Homicide Task Force, Newark police and the U.S.
Marshals Service for the arrest.

Authorities have not revealed the circumstances that led to Mikhy’s shooting.

An autopsy was performed Saturday, according to Ambrose, who also said the results were not yet available.

Bryant has been charged with aggravated manslaughter and weapons
offenses, Ambrose said. He is being held in lieu of $1 million bail.

The child’s mother — whom police have yet to name publicly — is still
being questioned. Newark Police Director Samuel DeMaio said the mother
told police she had seen the gun in the home before.

Outside Mikhy’s apartment on St. James Place in the city’s South
Ward, friends continued to drop off stuffed animals and other items for a
memorial to the boy. Dozens of messages were addressed to "Mekhi" on a
large piece of blue construction paper near the door of the child’s home.

Authorities and relatives on Facebook have spelled his name Mikhy.

Shamirah Butler and Lawanda Muhammed, both teachers at Harmony House
Early Learning Center in Newark, said they were shocked to hear of the
boy’s death.

"He was our angel," Muhammed said. "He was so full of life. Now we
have to go back to work and it’s like, ‘Where do we go from there? How
do we get past this?’ "

When told of Bryant’s arrest, Butler said of Mikhy: "He’ll have justice now, but it won’t bring him back."

Bryant, who Ambrose said is not Mikhy’s father, had been a "person of interest" from the beginning of the investigation.

According to state and county records, Bryant has been in and out of
jail and prison since 2004 on charges including unlawful possession of a
weapon, resisting arrest, aggravated assault with a firearm and drug
distribution. He also served 14 months at Mid-State Correctional
Facility for distributing drugs on school property before being released
on parole June 1.

Now, friends and family are trying to come to terms with the young boy’s death.

Alexis Warence, who said she works at a hospital with Mikhy’s
grandmother, dropped off a stuffed animal at the St. James Place
memorial and called the loss of Mikhy a "sad situation."

"He’s in a better place," Warence said. "This is definitely a tough
place to grow up. There’s not even any place for kids to play. He won’t
have to worry about any of that now."

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2011/12/questions_linger_in_the_fatal.html