Brooklyn shooting leaves woman brain-dead; family believes shooter is disgruntled tenant
By Kerry Burke and Elizabeth Keogh
A woman was left brain-dead after a weekend shooting in Brooklyn, with her family believing her injuries were caused by a disgruntled former tenant.
"This is a horror movie," the woman's sister told the Daily News on Monday. "It's a bad dream, and I can't wake up."
Before the shooting, Daniellie Parker, 29, was at her home on Dumont Ave. near Vermont St. in East New York, where she lives with her mother and brother, her family said.
Daniellie Parker, 29, who was allegedly shot and left brain dead by a former tenant on October 16, 2022. (Obtained by Daily News)
The family was gathered in the apartment eating Sunday dinner when her brother received a phone call from the tenant.
"She heard it on speaker," said Amani Parker, the woman's sister. "He was threatening us saying, 'Come outside, come outside and fight.' He said he had a gun."
"He was making texts and calls to my older brother's phone over and over," she added.
The tenant, his girlfriend and their 4-year-old daughter had been kicked out of Parker's mother's apartment when they failed to pay the $500 rent in August.
"They wanted to skip out on the rent," said the mom, Stephanie Parker. "They were only supposed to stay a month. They were on the way to a family shelter."
The couple showed up outside the apartment in a car, and Daniellie Parker met them downstairs, where she spotted the girlfriend. The two got into a fistfight on the street.
"He came out of nowhere and shot her," said Amani Parker, 25. "Why would he get involved with the girl fight?"
Daniellie Parker was shot in the neck.
Medics rushed her to Brookdale University Hospital, where she is brain-dead, her mother said.
"Her eyes still flutter," said Amani Parker. "Please don't offer us condolences. Please don't be sorry for our loss."
The family said they have never attempted to collect the $500 they are owed, and the aggressive text messages "came out of nowhere."
"This is the first we've heard of this," the devastated mother said. "Why would someone pull out a gun and shoot my daughter?"
Daniellie Parker, 29 with her 4 year-old daughter Harmony Jeffery. (Obtained by Daily News)
Daniellie Parker worked as a security guard before she lost her job during the pandemic. She has a 4-year-old daughter of her own.
"She doesn't know, she's too little," Amani Parker said of the girl. "It's something she'll have to deal with later."
Police have not yet made any arrests — making Amani Parker question whether she's safe.
"His 4-year-old daughter and my daughters go to the same school," she said. "Who knows what he's going to do?"
Stephanie Parker said that above all else, she wants justice for her daughter.
"It's heartbreaking," she said. "It's a bad dream I'm never going to wake up from. This gun violence needs to stop. I want them caught."