In the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, Angel Rojas, a 39-year-old man, was tragically killed in a shooting on a B15 bus. Originally from the Dominican Republic, Rojas was a father of two who had moved to the United States four years prior and was working two jobs to support his family. On the evening of March 20, 2014, he was on his way from one job to another when the incident occurred.
The shooter was identified as 14-year-old Kathon Anderson.
Reports indicate that Anderson, a member of the Stack Money Goons gang, was on the bus when members of a rival gang, the Twan Family, boarded. In response, Anderson drew a. 357 Magnum revolver and opened fire. The bullet missed its intended targets and struck Rojas in the head as he was speaking on his cellphone. After the initial shot, Anderson reportedly chased the rival gang members off the bus, firing several more times.
Kathon Anderson was apprehended by police shortly after the shooting and was charged as an adult with second-degree murder, criminal possession of a weapon, and other charges. During the investigation, it was revealed that the shooting was the culmination of a gang-related dispute that had been escalating through social media.
Following a trial, a jury convicted Kathon Anderson of second-degree murder and attempted murder. In May 2016, he was sentenced to 12 years to life in prison. An appeal of the conviction was later filed, but the judgment was affirmed in 2020, with the court noting that the evidence overwhelmingly showed Anderson as the initial aggressor. The tragic event was described by the then-Police Commissioner William Bratton as a senseless act of gang violence that resulted in the death of an innocent man.
