Sanjay Samuel, the 13-year-old boy who was fatally shot in the head while he was walking to school, has donated his organs to needy patients on the transplant waitlist, with four individuals already saved as a result of the gesture.
As previously reported by Face2Face Africa, Samuel, a high school freshman, was shot and killed on Monday, September 21, with New York City Mayor Eric Adams later stating that the incident was suspected to be gang-related.
In a statement on Monday, LiveOnNY, which is a non-profit organization, announced that Samuel’s family “generously said yes” to allowing patients to receive the deceased teen’s organs via transplant procedures, the New York Post reported.
The patients included a 13-year-old who received Samuel’s heart and a 15-year-old who got his liver. Samuel’s lungs, pancreas, and one of his kidneys were donated to two patients in their 50s.
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“LiveOnNY is humbled and honored to be the stewards of these precious gifts of life so that Sanjay and others may live on,” Leonard Achan, president and CEO of LiveOnNY, said in a statement. “We extend our deepest condolences to his family and friends.
“Our thoughts and prayers remain with them during this very difficult time.”
Authorities said that Samuel was fatally shot at a Dunkin’ Donuts parking lot in Queens, ABC7 New York reported. Samuel and his friends were at the said location when an individual on a scooter approached them. An argument and a fight subsequently started, and Samuel allegedly targeted that individual with punches. The suspect in question, aged 16, is said to have then drawn his weapon and opened fire, striking Samuel in the head.
The 16-year-old shooter was ultimately identified as Jaysohn Sykes, and he turned himself in to police on Friday. Sykes has since been charged with second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon, per the New York Post.
Following his killing, Samuel’s mother, Velene Griffith, blamed social media for the incident.
“This phone is a devil,” Griffith said last week. “These kids, they talk too much on social media. They live on the phone, on social media to hype themselves up, to look grown, to look big and bad.”
