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Woman Shot Outside P.S. 384 in Bushwick

By Patrick Hedlund | February 17, 2012 2:50pm | Updated on February 17, 2012 5:38pm
A woman was shot outside P.S./I.S. 385 Frances E. Carter school on Cooper Street in Bushwick Fri., Feb 17, 2012.
A woman was shot outside P.S./I.S. 385 Frances E. Carter school on Cooper Street in Bushwick Fri., Feb 17, 2012.
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DNAinfo/Sonja Sharp

By Sonja Sharp and Patrick Hedlund

DNAinfo Staff

BROOKLYN — A mother was shot by her ex-husband outside a school in Bushwick Friday afternoon, horrifying students as they left for the weekend, authorities said.

The victim was struck in the chest by the gunfire about 2:15 p.m. outside P.S./I.S. 384 Frances E. Carter school, located at 242 Cooper St., police and education officials said.

She was taken to Kings County Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police and fire officials added.

The shooter is the ex-husband of a mother who has children at the school, a Department of Education spokeswoman said. He was arrested following the incident, authorities said.

The shooting occurred during the school's dismissal, and students were led out of the building grade by grade onto a street away from where the incident happened, the DOE noted.

Jose Gonzalez, 56, a neighbor who claimed to know both the victim and the alleged shooter from the neighborhood, said the incident stemmed from a domestic dispute between the pair.

Witnesses said they saw the couple arguing outside the school just before the gunfire erupted.

Another of the alleged shooter's ex-wives, who lives just down the block from the school, said the man did not have a history of violent behavior.

“I just heard about it," said the woman, Marilyn, who did not give her last name. "I was shocked.”

One parent at the school said he helped wrestle the gun away from the alleged shooter.

“He was trying to shoot her, his finger was all the way on the trigger," said Anastacio Diaz, 39, who has three children at the school.

"I'm not a hero. I’m just trying to help somebody."

A witness who lives across the street from the school said she rushed to help the victim immediately after the shooting.

"I ran down the block, a lady was sitting down by the side of the school," said Robin Smallwood, who also a child at P.S. 384. "I asked her if she was OK. She said, 'No, I’ve been shot in the chest.' I just freaked.”

One parent said said the shooting shook students at the pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade school.

“My daughter has been crying, all the kids are crying," said Nely Ouiya, 34. "They were so scared you couldn’t believe.”

A person answering the phone at the school referred questions to the Department of Education.