In a tragic incident in the Bronx, 16-year-old Zion Willis died on November 12, 2015, from a gunshot wound to the head. The promising young dancer, who had once been a student at the prestigious Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, was visiting a friend in a Mount Eden apartment when the fatal event occurred.
According to police reports, Willis was in the apartment on East 171st Street with her friend, the 18-year-old sister of the apartment resident's girlfriend.
The resident, 42-year-old Dale Weston, reportedly showed the two young women a. 40-caliber pistol. After Weston was called away, he left the firearm in the room. Willis picked up the gun to examine it, and as she looked down the barrel, the weapon discharged, inflicting a fatal wound. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Immediately following the shooting, Weston, who had a lengthy criminal record including arrests for robbery and drug offenses, fled the apartment, taking the gun with him. The New York Police Department quickly identified him as a person of interest, seeking him for criminal possession of a firearm. Other adults and children were present in the apartment at the time of the incident but were in other rooms.
Weston was later apprehended by authorities and faced several charges, including criminally negligent homicide and criminal possession of a weapon. Police confirmed that he owned the handgun illegally. The death of the young girl, who was also a part-time counselor for troubled youth, was ultimately deemed a tragic accident resulting from the mishandling of an illegal firearm.
