An argument over a stolen drink at a popular Columbia University hangout early yesterday escalated into gunfire that killed a young father of three and wounded his older brother, authorities said.
The violence erupted shortly after 3 a.m. outside Radio Perfecto Uptown on Amsterdam Avenue.
Delquan Kearns, 23, of Pennsylvania was killed. Kearns, formerly of The Bronx, had been in town visiting his family, including brother Stephan Jones, 27, who was with him at the time.
Jones was taken to St. Luke’s Hospital with a gunshot wound to the arm. The gunman escaped.
“My sons said they were at the bar and that some guy grabbed one of their drinks,” said their mother, Sharon Alexander, 47, of Staten Island. “Delquan told the guy that was his drink, and the guy said ‘That’s OK, I don’t care.’ They got into an argument [and] went outside.
“He [Stephan] said the bullet went through his left arm and into Delquan’s head,” Alexander said. “They didn’t have time to react.”
Jones was devastated by the slaying of his brother, a graduate of the Technical Career Institute who lived with a girlfriend and their son, Delquan Jr., 2, the mom said.
Kearns also had two daughters, Dashea, 6, and Destiny, 4, who live with their mom in The Bronx.
“He keeps saying it’s his fault,” Alexander said of Jones. “He feels guilty because he’s the oldest one. He said, ‘Why, why does it have to be my brother?’ He’s hurting.”
Additional reporting by Jamie Schram and Cathy Burke