A skilled roller blader was killed Monday night as a gunman opened fire on him and his two friends at a Flatbush donut shop.
Police said that Ocean Avenue resident Brian Scott, 18, who went by the roller blading stage name “Cosmik,” was inside the Parkside Coffee and Donut Shop at 188 Parkside Avenue when the gunman came in and opened fire.
Scott was hit in the chest and back and died of his injuries at Kings County Hospital. His two friends, ages 23 and 20, were also wounded, but their injuries were not considered life-threatening. The two friends were taken to Brookdale Hospital, officials said.
According to early accounts, witnesses said that Scott and his friends were outside the donut shop at 8:30 p.m. on October 12 when they had words with an unidentified male.
When they went inside, the stranger followed them, pulled a gun, and began blasting, witnesses said.
Yet when questioned Tuesday afternoon, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said that Scott may have been an innocent victim in the shooting and not the intended target.
As of this writing, cops had yet to find the gunman, or a motive for the bloodshed.
Friends of Scott, a student at the Satellite Academy High School in Manhattan, said that the young man wasn’t the type to get into trouble and enjoyed doing one thing — eye-popping tricks on his roller blades.
On Monday morning, several roller bladers, as well as family and friends, put together a makeshift memorial for Scott outside the donut shop.
“He was an amazing roller blader, he was not into trouble… he must have been in the wrong place and the wrong time,” one neighbor told reporters as he looked over the memorial, where, among a few candles, read the missives “Much love Cozmik,” “I rolled” and the simple statement “Why?” “All he did was skate all day… that is what he was all about.”
His father, also named Brian, said his son was “one of the loved people on the block.”
“He was loved by everybody,” he said. “He never got into trouble. He was a peaceful boy.”
Cops are asking anyone with information regarding this incident to come forward. Calls can be made to the NYPD CrimeStoppers hotline at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.
