Joycelyn Dodds Panthier, a New York mother who is grieving after her son was killed on Saturday, is urging Mayor Eric Adams to “fix the city.”
“Something has to be done,” Panthier told the New York Post. “Fix the city. Hold people accountable for their actions. Children are dying.”
Her son, 26-year-old Peter Panthier, was shot and killed around 8 p.m. while walking in the Far Rockaway neighborhood of Queens, New York. The New York Police Department, which is still looking for the shooter, released footage of the incident. Peter first appeared to be walking with another man in the neighborhood. The man, however, eventually pulled out a gun and shot Peter at point-blank range. Peter was pronounced dead at the hospital, police said.
The Panthier family moved to East New York about 18 months ago after leaving their native country, Dominica, a Caribbean island. Peter initially stayed in Trinidad and Tobago and attended St. Augustine College to study economics. Joycelyn said the family begged Peter to come and join them in New York because he was struggling with depression.
“He was suffering from depression so badly that he didn’t finish his studies. We just asked him to come home,” she said.
Joycelyn, who said she didn’t recognize the shooter seen in the video, described her son as a super intelligent young man who excelled as an actor and musician.
“He tested super high on his IQ. Einstein levels,” she said.
According to CBS News, a neighbor described Peter as “a bright, kind young man who was often seen helping his grandfather.”
“I have two boys. I wish one of them was as sweet as him,” the neighbor told CBS News.
New York City residents have been increasingly expressing concerns about violence in their neighborhoods. Cazim Suljovic, 68, is among those residents who has experienced a terrifying incident. Suljovic and his son were stabbed near a Queens pizza shop on Wednesday while trying to stop a group attempting to rob an elderly woman.
“People have to protect themselves, because the government is not doing it,” Suljovic told The Post.
The 68-year-old is recovering from a punctured lung and nine stab wounds.
