Trini father shot dead in New York

A BICYCLE accident that injured a three-year-old boy sparked the fatal shooting of his Trinidadian father in Brooklyn over the weekend, police and witnesses said.

Irwin Donovan, 20, was gunned down on the doorstep of  his Bedford-Stuyvesant home after getting the child’s mother, Benette Gantt, safely inside. Gantt had argued last Wednesday night with a young woman who rode her bicycle on the sidewalk and struck three-year-old Messiah Donovan, cops said. The child’s face was swollen, and he was treated for a bump on his head. “My daughter Benette confronted the young lady about why she was riding on the sidewalk,” said Robert Gantt, 64, in an interview with the New York Daily News. “There were heated words, and they fought.” The dispute snowballed as both sides attracted supporters. Donovan was elsewhere at the time.

The next evening, Donovan and Benette Gantt were sitting on the stoop of their Hancock Street apartment. About 12:30 am on Sunday, several cars pulled up and a man headed for the couple. “Irwin and my daughter ran into the hall,” said Robert Gantt. “Irwin held the door and told her to run up and call 911. About four shots ran out. I knew it wasn’t fireworks. I came running down the steps, and he was laying on the floor. All was blood.” Donovan was shot once in the chest through his front door window, cops said. He was pronounced dead on arrival at Woodhull Hospital. “I was hoping he would be my son-in-law. He worked hard every day. He did good,” said Gantt. Born in Trinidad, Donovan grew up in New York and had worked as a security guard, Gantt said. “I want the killer of my brother to be found,” said the victim’s 27-year-old sister, Debbie Donovan. “It’s hard losing a 20-year-old.”

A young man paying respects at a makeshift memorial at the Hancock Street apartment predicted more trouble. “There’s going to be a lot more tragedy. It’s not over till it’s over. It doesn’t end here,” said the man, who declined to give his name. Cops said the gunman escaped in a blue sport-utility vehicle. He is described as black, in his 20s, 6-feet-1, 200 to 235 pounds and dressed in a red hat and red shirt.