Editor’s Note: The following is a slightly extended version of the story that appears in our latest print edition.

In an interview on Valentine’s Day, Saturday, Feb. 14, a little more than 72 hours after getting a call to say her son had been shot and killed at West 238th Street and Broadway in the Kingsbridge section of The Bronx, the grieving mother of Christopher Redding, 16, recalled her son’s final day and decried the four teens who allegedly chased him down and shot him to death.

 

As reported, the NYPD said officers responded to a 911 call at around 5.10 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 11, for a report of several people who had been shot at the intersection of Broadway and West 238th Street. “Upon arrival, officers observed a 16-year-old male with a gunshot wound to the back, a 15-year-old male with a gunshot wound to the right leg, and a 13-year-old female with a gunshot wound to the right leg.”

 

They said EMS responded and transported all three victims to St. Barnabas Hospital where the 16-year-old victim was pronounced deceased. They said the 13-year-old girl and 15-year-old boy are in stable condition. They said there were no initial arrests and the investigation remained ongoing.

On Feb. 12, police released photos of four suspects and on Feb. 14, announced that pursuant to an ongoing investigation, an unnamed 17-year-old male was arrested at 2.45 p.m. in the confines of the 50th Precinct, which covers the Bronx neighborhoods of Kingsbridge, Riverdale, Fieldston, Spuyten Duyvil and Marble Hill.

 

As reported, police had said they were investigating the incident in the context of a possible “gang nexus.” Read our prior coverage of the incident, including reaction from elected officials and others, here, here and here.

 

According to Christopher’s mother, Shampagne Christian, her son was born in Toombs County, Georgia, and moved to the New York City area when he was just one. She said the family spent time on Belmont Avenue and Honeywell Avenue, before settling in their current home in the Mt. Eden section of the borough.

POLICE RESPOND TO a multiple shooting at 238th Street and Broadway in Kingsbridge, The Bronx on Feb. 11, 2026. Video by Síle Moloney

Christian recalled her son’s love of football and basketball and how her son played for several different football teams before joining the roster of the John F. Kennedy Knights on Nov. 5, 2025. According to the Kennedy Knights roster, Christopher, a 10th grader, was a running back with the team and had played just two games with the Knights, a 36-31 win against South Shore High School on Nov. 7, and a season ending loss of 51-36 to Lincoln High School of Brooklyn on Nov. 15.

 

Christian went on to recall the outpouring of support she received from Christopher’s friends amid their grief, telling Norwood News, “I’ve gotten a dozen calls from his friends.” She said they had been posting photos and memories of Christopher “every minute of the day every day since it happened.” She continued, “They’ve been reaching out to me. His girlfriend has been a big help. She’s been keeping me informed of a lot of things that’s been going on.”

Asked if she had been told of the arrest of one of the four suspects announced just a couple of hours earlier, Christian responded, “Yes, I know. The detective called me. Yes, they called me and told me that.”

 

Recalling the fateful day her son died, Christian said, “My son, that day when he got out of school, he always got something to eat. He always called me or his dad for money. I sent my baby his last $25 and he told me he was going to Chipotle.” She continued, “He was on his way back to his football practice and one of his friends called him from inside that McDonalds and after that, I got a call that my son was shot.”

 

Asked how she was coping, Christian said, “Well, this is like the most I’ve been able to talk since it happened, but I want my son’s story out there. I want everybody to know that my son was a phenomenal football player, and he had dreams of going to the NFL.”

Christian continued, “The precinct is right next to McDonalds. I don’t get it.” She continued, “There was a cop car. He was walking with friends and I can’t really remember his friend’s name right now because my mind is so cloudy, but his friend told me he had to run to the cop car in order to get help for my son when they were just sitting in the car, and I know they had to hear those shots going off.”

 

When told about a witness’s statement about teens allegedly often seen fighting in the area, and that police allegedly “don’t get involved” because according to the witness, they’re just kids, Christian replied, “That’s not right. What are they there for then? I want to know what are the police there for? Aren’t they there to protect us, to take care of our kids?”

 

The grieving mother continued, “One of the people that he knows called my son and made him leave. He was on his way to practice, leave from what he was about to do to come help them, and these are the repercussions that me and my family have to deal with, because my son is so genuine to other people, so kind, and always wanting to help everybody else.”

Asked what she would say to the three additional teens sought by detectives for questioning, Christian replied, “Turn yourselves in. Everybody loves my son… and we’re not going to rest until they’re held accountable for what they did. And the police did not do their job. I feel like they did not do their job. How dare you hear gunshots, and you know this is a time when these kids are supposed to be getting out of school. What job were you actually doing?” Norwood News reached out to the NYPD for comment on Christian’s remarks. We did not receive an immediate response.

 

Besides the heartbroken parents, Christopher also leaves behind a brother and two sisters. On Friday, Feb. 13, two days after the shooting, Norwood News had spoken to a male acquaintance of the family who, along with his own son, was visiting Christopher’s family. Asked how the family were doing, the adult friend had said, “They’re taking it pretty hard.”

 

Asked what Christopher was like, the adult friend who declined to be identified, replied, “He was a very good kid. He just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, you know? His regular thing was to come home, go to school, come home. Actually, I think he was at football practice [the day he was killed].”

The man added, “I guess he was with a couple of friends and was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and then troublemakers came around and that’s how that happened, but he was a good kid. He didn’t deserve that at all. None of them deserved that. It’s just a bad situation. We need more control over these young kids, you know, because these young kids getting these hands on these weapons and nobody trying to figure out where these kids is getting these weapons from.”

 

The man continued, “They have to get to the bottom of the line on that, first. How is it that they’re getting their hands on these weapons?” In June 2022, Norwood News reported that a 17-year-old male student at a Harlem charter school, also attended by two Bronx students, was found to have been in possession of a loaded 9 mm gun on the school campus and was later arrested.

 

On the topic of metal detectors at the school, the mother of the affected Bronx students told Norwood News at the time, “We got another email [from the school], stating that they only scanned the high schoolers before entering the school and that’s it.” She added, “But there are siblings, and how do we know if the teens are not asking younger students who are not being scanned or checked to hold a weapon until they get in the building? We need stricter laws.”

Norwood News later asked the school [part of a charter school group called DPPS] about the scanner situation and a spokesperson said, “DPPS has not implemented metal detectors indefinitely at its schools. They are using metal detectors / wand scanners this week at both high schools on 123rd street out of an abundance of caution and in accordance with NYPD and DOE school safety guidance. Only high school students are scanned.”

 

When we recounted this story to the adult friend of Christopher’s family on Feb. 13, he said, “That’s another thing that’s going on too. You got a lot of these older guys that’s handing these things down to these younger youth and knowing that if they do it, it’s not so much consequences [jail time] as if an older person does it, so they’re using them as pawns.”

 

We asked the man if he meant that older guys were handing over guns to youth to simply carry them or to actually use them, or both. The man said both. “Yeah, that’s the world we’re living in now,” he added.

POLICE ARE APPEALING to the public for help identifying these people who they say are wanted for questioning in connection with the murder of 16-year-old boy Christopher Redding and the nonfatal shooting of two other teens at Broadway and West 238th Street in the Kingsbridge section of The Bronx on Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026. Video courtesy of the NYPD

A vigil and justice rally for Christopher, whose nickname was CJ, was held on Feb. 18, a week after he died at the location where he was shot, and was attended by friends, family, clergy, and elected officials, including Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark, and members of his Kennedy Knights football team.

 

Addressing those gathered, Christopher’s mother said, “My son was an amazing kid. He was an awesome son, and I want these kids to pay, and there’s still four other people out here. I want them picked up.” She added, “He wasn’t in a gang, my son was a good son.”

 

After offering her condolences to the family, Clark told the crowd, “I take this personal. Your son was my son. My job is to protect the people of The Bronx; that’s what I do all day, every day. I’m heartbroken over this.” The district attorney added, “I met with the homicide team this afternoon to get a follow up on what’s going on. Yes, you’re right, we have to do more with our youth. I’m losing a generation of my young children to these shootings, to this senseless violence.”

POLICE CORDON OFF the crime scene in the vicinity of Putnam Avenue following a multiple shooting at 238th Street and Broadway in Kingsbridge, The Bronx on Feb. 11, 2026. Video by Síle Moloney

Christopher’s father, Bryan Corley, later called out NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani, saying, “Mayor Mamdani, you said that the NYPD is doing a great job. Imagine your son getting killed and then you hear that the person who held your son at his last breath had to knock on a police door of a cop car that was right there, and they’re sitting inside.” Norwood News understands that the mayor’s comments about policing were general comments, but we are seeking further clarity on this.

 

Speaking directly to the assailants, Christian then added, “You broke me. You took everything from me. I don’t get to see my son have kids. I don’t see him getting married. I don’t get to see him walking across the stage. I want justice for my son. Justice for CJ!”

 

The unnamed arrested teen is deemed innocent unless and until convicted in a court of law. As previously reported, a GoFundMe page has been created to help support the family. The link is as follows: https://bit.ly/46L9asm.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/, or on X @NYPDTips.

 

All calls are strictly confidential.