A New York City mother is living every parent’s worst nightmare for the second time. Kellie Lewis lost a son to gun violence in 2021, and recently lost another boy to the same crime on June 24, 2025. Her son, 17-year-old Darrell Harris, reportedly went to a park with friends for a water gun fight. But at some point, someone pulled out a real firearm, and Darrell wound up dead.
According to the New York Post, Darrell and some friends met up at Starlight Park in the Bronx around 8 p.m. Another boy reportedly doused him with water from a gel blaster, which apparently upset Darrell. He allegedly charged the gel blaster shooter, but another person shot first with a real gun before he could retaliate. Darrell suffered gunshot wounds to the head and arm.
Emergency responders arrived on the scene a short time later and rushed Darrell to NYC Health and Hospitals/Jacobi, where doctors pronounced him dead.
Lewis told ABC 7 that Darrell, a rising senior at Bronx Leadership Academy, was a homebody and a good kid.
“He didn’t have no problems with nobody. He was a quiet child. He didn’t really go outside,” she said.
Sadly, this is Lewis’ second time losing a child to gun violence. Her eldest son, Jamal Hunter, was gunned down in the Bronx in 2021 at age 27. His killer was convicted.
“I’ve been through this already with my oldest son … I have to make sure my other children are well,” Lewis told the news station. “They lost one sibling, now they just lost another one, so it takes a toll on the whole family, and that’s what these kids don’t realize when they pick up these weapons.”
According to the New York Post, the gunman remains at large. He allegedly fled the scene with the boy who shot Darrell with a water gun. Police reportedly found a knife, shell casings, and several water guns at the scene. The case remains under investigation.
