The murder of 13-year-old Troy Gill, who called his mother after he was shot returning home from a Brooklyn Nets game, may have been the victim of a gang hit, police sources said Saturday.
Detectives investigating the boy’s killing have linked the teen to the Trench Crew, a street gang that operates out of Bedford-Stuyvesant and other parts of northern Brooklyn.
Troy was somehow “affiliated” with the crew, the sources said, although the teen’s involvement with the gang wasn’t immediately disclosed.
The teen was alone when a gunman opened fire at New York Ave. and Bergen St. in Crown Heights about 10:40 p.m. on Thursday. He was repeatedly hit in the chest and arm.
Troy ran off, collapsing on the street two blocks away. Medics rushed him to Kings County Hospital, but he could not be saved.
A potential gang hit was an “avenue of inquiry” for detectives as they continue to investigate, a high-ranking police source said Saturday.
Troy’s mother told cops she didn’t know that he went to the game until he FaceTimed her from the arena about 9 p.m., authorities said. He FaceTimed her again about an hour later from an Uber, according to cops.
He called her again at 10:36 p.m., and told her that he had been shot, and was running toward the Brooklyn Children’s Museum, cops said.
People outside Troy’s home on Saturday turned away a reporter.
Shocked friends earlier described him as a kind, fun teenager with a passion for basketball.
Cops recovered six shell casings at the scene, and on Friday were continuing to scour the area for surveillance video that could help them identify the shooter.
It was the third homicide to take place in the Brooklyn neighborhood in the past week, police said.
The Trench Crew has been investigated for several violent acts over the years, police said. Infighting within the gang’s ranks led to a fatal shooting at a crowded Bedford-Stuyvesant playground in April 2022, police said.
With Rebecca White
