CONEY ISLAND, Brooklyn – A 17-year-old who was hospitalized after she was beaten allegedly by another teen has died Tuesday night, according to her family.
Doctors said Tajae Warner was declared brain dead as the result of injuries she suffered Saturday night in a beating allegedly by another teenager in front of her apartment building on 24th Street in Coney Island. The girl’s father, Arthur Warner, was present at Bellevue Hospital when she was removed from the breathing machines shortly after 10 p.m. The family has donated all of Tajae’s healthy organs.
An 18-year-old woman, identified as Sarina Agard-Forde, has been arrested in the assault and will face an attempted murder charge, police said.
Agard-Forde allegedly attacked Tajae after she spoke out in defense of her brother who was taunted with obscenities. Police said the victim was thrown to the ground, punched and kicked. It’s believed she became unconscious when her head hit the pavement.
Members of the community gathered in front of a makeshift memorial in the lobby of the girl’s apartment building to voice outrage over the senseless beating and a rash of violence that has occurred on nearby streets. Friends of the girl hugged one another and wiped tears from their eyes.
“We as parents we think we can protect our children at every given time,” Warner said hours before pulling the plug. “It’s not like that. Reality just hit me in the face and it’s not going to go away for some time now.”
Activists said the violence on the streets has to end.
“We shouldn’t have to worry about our children walking outside, going to the store or coming home from school,” family friend Lissette Pizarro said. “It’s getting ridiculous. As a community, we should stick together. This is something that should never ever happen.”
“What we need is people to step up and say something.” community activist Tony Herbert said. “We want them arrested tonight.”
Tajae’s father has a message for his daughter’s attackers.
‘Give yourself up,” he said. “Because the one that they do have in custody will sing. She’s going to sing her tune.”
Police said Wednesday that no one else is being sought in the beating of the teen.
