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Three suspects have been arraigned at Syracuse City Court as of this morning after being arrested last week in connection with the killing of 11-year-old Brexialee Torres-Ortiz, who on Jan. 16 was struck in a drive-by shooting outside of Dr. King Elementary School.

Ra’Sean Patterson, 18, Dahviere Griswold, 20 and a 16-year-old suspect face charges of second-degree murder, second-degree attempted murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

Syracuse police arrested Patterson and Griswold on Wednesday, the Syracuse Police Department and Onondaga County District Attorney William Fitzpatrick announced at a Thursday press conference. SPD announced the arrest of the third suspect in a tweet on Friday morning.

Torres-Ortiz, who was a student at Blodgett Middle School, was walking home on Oakwood Ave. after buying milk for her family when she was shot. Family and community members gathered on Friday for a funeral at Tucker Missionary Baptist Church.

Syracuse University held a moment of silence in the JMA Wireless Dome for Brexialee and other Syracuse children killed by gun violence at Sunday’s women’s basketball game against Louisville.

Kayla Gallagher, a school psychologist at Blodgett, organized a GoFundMe campaign, Brexi’s Legacy, to financially support Brexialee’s family, according to the website. The fundraiser has raised over $47,000 as of Sunday night.

The drive-by shooting followed five other instances of gun violence in Syracuse in the past month.

On Jan. 4 Syracuse police responded to a shooting on Delaware Ave., where a 14-year-old male was reportedly shot in the hand. Just days before on Dec. 30, a 25-year-old male was shot in both legs on Highland St. As of Jan. 29, no arrests have been made in either case.

On Jan. 7, two men in their twenties were shot on Sunset Ave. off of highway I-81. One man died after being shot in the chest, and another was shot in the leg but is reportedly expected to survive. On Friday, a 17-year-old boy was shot in both his arms on the North Side of Syracuse, where he was taken to Upstate Medical Hospital and is expected to survive.

After three Syracuse police officers were shot at but not hit on Tuesday near Fabius St., 18-year-old Tajh E. Smith of Salina was charged with three counts of attempted murder in connection with the shooting.

Stephanie Zaso | Digital Design Director

In his 2023 State of the City address, Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh acknowledged the impact of gun violence in the Syracuse area. He addressed Torres-Ortiz’s death alongside Pastor Lateef Johnson-Kinsey of Well of Hope Church, who delivered an invocation prayer and recognized the impact on the 11-year-old’s family and the greater community.

Walsh pointed to his plans to mitigate gun violence by addressing root causes, like the Community Violence Intervention plan via his Mayor’s Office to Reduce Gun Violence.

“In addition to the efforts of law enforcement, we must go after the root causes of violence and conflict,” Walsh said in a press release. “There will be counseling, mentoring, job and school reentry programs. Through the coordinated efforts of our community violence intervention partners, we will find an enduring path to peace on our streets.”

Also in the address, Walsh highlighted Syracuse’s rising murder rate, which going into 2023 sits at 19.85 murders per 100,000 people.

The two adult suspects accused in the killing of Torres-Ortiz are set to appear in court for a preliminary hearing on Tuesday, while the 16-year-old is set to appear Wednesday.

Published on January 29, 2023 at 10:08 pm

Contact Stephanie: spwright@syr.edu