On a rainy September evening in 1994, 13-year-old Nicholas Naquan Heyward Jr. was shot in the stairwell of the Gowanus Houses in Brooklyn while playing with other boys. The group had been playing cops and robbers with colorful plastic toy guns. New York City Housing Authority Police Officer Brian George entered the stairwell responding to a report of gunfire and encountered Nicholas holding a toy weapon. Friends present say Nicholas dropped the toy and tried to explain they were only playing. The officer fired one shot, striking him in the stomach; Nicholas died at a Manhattan hospital eight hours later.

The Brooklyn District Attorney at the time, Charles Hynes, concluded the shooting was a justifiable homicide and no charges were filed; the matter was not presented to a grand jury. Nicholas Heyward Sr. has repeatedly sought accountability. In 2015, Brooklyn DA Ken Thompson’s office reviewed the case, re-interviewed witnesses and again declined to bring criminal charges against the now-retired officer.

Does anyone have memories of the Gowanus Houses that night or information that could shed light on what happened?