Charlie Hunter used his body trying to shield his son on his fifth birthday from bullets. They were celebrating his birthday and walking with Jaheen’s sister Monday to a waiting car, when 27-year-old accused shooter Michael Quiles fired shots. A Stray Bullet hit the birthday boy in the head, entered his brain and lodged in the back of his skull. Before fleeing from the scene of the shooting, Quiles allegedly apologized - he knew Hunter’s name - by saying “It’s my bad.” Hunter said the suspect knows him, knows Jaheen is his “baby,” and knows him from their Bronx neighborhood.
After Hunter bundled his little boy into his sister’s car, they rushed him through a traffic jam to St. Barnabas Hospital. His father describes Jaheen as tough and active, which is how he wants him back. The little boy was between Quiles and Christian Foster, according to police. The two men were arguing when Quiles reportedly pulled out a handgun and started shooting. He allegedly missed his targets, but struck Jaheen, police stated. Five bullet casings were recovered at the scene.
Birthday boy in critical condition
Jaheem is in critical condition, his aunt, Gail Harris said. He is holding his own. The five-year-old underwent surgery Tuesday at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital Columbia after he was transferred from St.
Barnabas. The bullet was removed, but some fragments remain in the little boy’s skull, according to his great-grandmother, Barbara Holmes. She also said that doctors are taking a wait-and-see approach towards his recovery while waiting for the anesthesia to wear off as he slowly awakens.
Prosecutor promised suspected shooter murder charges if Jaheen Hunter dies
Felicity Lung, Assistant District Attorney, made a promise to suspect Michael Quiles that he will face murder charges if Jaheem dies. She said his recovery is uncertain, and that he is stable but still critical. She said, too, that doctors aren’t sure if he’ll survive.
Early Tuesday, police, along with federal marshals, handcuffed and arrested Quiles roughly 300 feet from the scene of the shooting. Authorities are investigating if the argument prior to the shooting spilled over from a fight on June 1 that involved the suspect. During that incident, someone hit him with a baseball bat and his right hand was broken. One of Quiles' neighbors said the suspect has worn a cast for weeks and that it was from a “beatdown” by a man who was upset the ex-con made advances on his teenage sister.
During a brief court hearing yesterday, Judge Julio Rodriguez III, Bronx Criminal Court, approved an order of protection for Jaheen that the prosecutor requested, along with a no bail hold on Quiles.
He told the alleged shooter not to have any contact with the little boy.
Alleged shooter has string of charges and criminal past
The parolee faces assault, criminal possession of a weapon, criminal possession of a firearm, and attempted murder charges. The accused was convicted of attempted kidnapping in Troy, NY, and served a six-year sentence, authorities said. Along with three other people, he abducted a woman in 2010 and assaulted her. Her brother had stolen a safe that belonged to one of her kidnappers, authorities said. October 2016, Quiles was released from prison, according to court records. He is on parole until 2021.
