A Brooklyn stabbing left 6-year-old Prince Joshua Avitto dead Sunday after a knife-wielding man attacked the child and a friend in an apartment building elevator. The other child, a 7-year-old girl named Mikayla Capers, survived the attack but remains in critical condition as of Monday afternoon, having sustained several stabs to her chest and hands.
The children were said to be on their way to buy ice cream when they were attacked.
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"I’m devastated. I’m beyond comprehension," the boy’s father, Nicholas Avitto,
told the New York Daily News. "I’m trying to understand how God works. My son is gone. That was the light of my life."
"He took my pride and joy away," Avitto added, after having lamented that he had not kissed his son that day, the Daily News noted.
The child-killer managed to escape from the scene on foot and remains at large.
According to Deputy Chief Patrick Conry, the killer was described as heavyset man in his 20s,
The New York Times reported. The attack reportedly occurred at about 5:50 p.m. The murder weapon was recovered at the scene by police.
The children were reportedly found by other residents when the elevator door opened on the building's fourth floor.
"She was laying face up, they were on her chest. They (EMTs) opened up her jacket and all you could see is blood," neighbor Kevin Velez, 41, told the Daily News.
"He was covered head to toe in blood," Velez added referring to Avitto. "I just seen that little boy yesterday. I’m hurt. These are my daughter’s friends. These are kids."
The attack shocked the community, bringing many to tears as news of the 6-year-old's death spread.
"To see them come out and tell her he didn’t make it," neighbor Sophia Diaz told the Times between tears, referring to Avitto's parents. "His birthday is June 17. He didn’t even make it to seven years old."
"How could a grown man who was as big as they say he is find it in his heart to do that them? When P.J. is only 40, 50 pounds?" Diaz added.
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