The niece of Fox Business anchor Charles Payne was wounded during a shooting earlier this month on the Harlem street where he grew up, the journalist revealed on-air Wednesday.
Payne, 61, said his niece, 39-year-old Keisha Williams, was attending a sidewalk memorial service on May 6 for a friend’s son who had died when masked shooters rolled up and opened fire.
“They come in with the masks, they’re shooting crazy, a third floor apartment was all busted up,” Payne said during an appearance on “Fox & Friends,” explaining he believed the assailants were looking for “another gang guy.”
Williams and a 63-year-old woman, who Payne described as a longtime friend, were struck by gunfire.
Neighbors told Gothamist that they doubt the women were intentionally targeted in the attack.
Both victims were hospitalized and are expected to recover — but Payne’s niece needed to undergo four hours of surgery to treat her wounds.
“Our country is really getting so cracked apart where the haves are doing extraordinarily well … they live in safety,” Payne said. “And the rest of us, whether its in places where the opioid epidemic is out of control, or places like my neighborhood…”
“This gang thing has really been amazing, I had no idea it was this bad,” he said.
Payne had joined “Fox & Friends” to discuss Donald Trump’s plans to hold a campaign rally in the South Bronx Thursday, and comment on Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez telling reporters the rally was an “embarrassment” for the former president.
“He can’t leave the five boroughs because he always has to be in court,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “I am looking forward to the response of everyday Bronxites talking about how they feel about him coming to their backyard.”
Payne, for his part, said he was pleased Trump was holding a rally and hoped he would pay a visit to Harlem in light of the shooting that hit close to home.
“I’m thrilled President Trump is going there, I wish he would go to Harlem.
