Children on their way to get ice cream stabbed in elevator,police say

By Laura Ly, CNN

June 3, 2014 -- Updated 2019 GMT (0419 HKT)

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

A boy, 6, and a girl, 7, were stabbed in an elevator in a Brooklyn neighborhood

The boy, Prince Joshua "PJ" Avitto, died; the girl is in critical condition, police say

Police investigate whether the attack is related to a fatal stabbing in the same area

(CNN) -- New York police are searching for a man who stabbed two children, one fatally, in anelevator Sunday evening.

Police described the man as a "heavy set" black male, approximately 6 feet tall, between ages 25 and35, and last seen wearing a gray shirt. He stabbed a 6-year-old boy and a 7-year-old girl inside anelevator in their apartment building in the East New York neighborhood of Brooklyn and fled, policesaid.

Prince Joshua "PJ" Avitto, 6, was stabbed in the torso and transported to a nearby hospital, where hewas pronounced dead. The girl was also stabbed in the torso and remains in critical condition,according to police.

New York Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said Monday that the two children were on their way toget ice cream when they were stabbed.

"The amount of violence we saw in an unusual weekend reinforces the need for an energized policedepartment," Bratton said. "We cannot have a city where two ... children going to get an ice creamare stabbed, one killed and the other fighting for her life. That is not the City of New York that wewant to police."

Families of both children have been coping with grief and have struggled to comprehend thesituation.

If you have any information relating to this case, please call 1-800-577-TIPS or go to the NYPDCrime Stoppers website.

"It's two children. It doesn't make any sense," said Scott Avitto, PJ's uncle. "We're all just struggling,we're trying to pull it together. Our family is strong, but we just want justice to be done."

"Pray for her, and us. And pray for PJ's family. This is senseless. I don't know what monster would dosomething like this," Regenia Trevathan, the girl's great-grandmother, told CNN affiliate WCBS. Shesaid adults were watching the children outside on a playground when they went inside the building

alone to get ice cream.

Avitto was related to Taj Gibson, a forward for the Chicago Bulls. Gibson tweeted Monday morning:"They killed my lil super man. #rippj only two more weeks until your 7 birthday. Tears forever."Gibson also posted a picture of Avitto to his Instagram account.

PJ's godfather Henry Alston said the boy's funeral will be Friday.

Police have recovered a Dura Edge knife that was used inthe homicide.

Investigators are considering the possibility that thesuspect may also be responsible for another fatal stabbingthat occurred just blocks away.

Tanaya Copeland, 18, was found in the same neighborhoodFriday night, unconscious and unresponsive with multiplestab wounds to her torso. Copeland was pronounced deadat a nearby hospital, police said.

The close proximity of the incidents, as well as similaritiesin the type of weapons used, have led detectives to believethe two cases may be related. No arrests have yet been made in either case, and the investigation isongoing, police said.

12-year-old girls accused of stabbing friend

CNN's Adam Reiss contributed to this report.