Yaseem Jenkins, the toddler who was used as a “human shield” by his father during a 2019 drug-related shooting in Philadelphia, sadly died on Tuesday. Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said at a press conference Friday “We are awaiting a medical examiner’s report on the cause of death, but we have reason to believe the cause of death is his original injury from that shooting.”
Jenkins, 3, was just 11 months old when he was shot in several areas including his head, neck, and buttocks after his father, Nafes Monroe, allegedly tried to buy drugs with counterfeit cash in the city’s Hunting Park section, PEOPLE reports citing KYWTV. During the exchange, the alleged shooter, Francisco Ortiz, opened fire on Monroe after the drug deal went sour. Baby Jenkins was struck a total of four times.
“He was using counterfeit money to purchase drugs knowing that counterfeit money is very upsetting to drug dealers, and when they find out they’re being burned with counterfeit money, they act violently,” Anthony Voci, Homicide Unit Chief with the District Attorney’s Office, told KYW in 2019. He also said at the time, “Our investigation has led us to believe that he intentionally had his child with him when he was making such types of purchases with the idea or belief that if someone saw that he had a child in the car, that they would not fire upon him,” Anthony added. “A human shield is probably the term that I would use.”
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The 2019 shooting left Jenkins in critical condition. The initial prognosis for the child was very heartbreaking. North Philadelphia Police Caption Nicholas Brown told reporters that there would “be no chance for full recovery for that child,” and that if he survived, ‘he [would] most likely be a quadriplegic.”
Meanwhile, during that time, Monroe had been charged with recklessly endangering another person and endangering the welfare of a child, KYW-TV noted. During Friday’s press conference, Krasner revealed that if medical examiners deem Jenkins’ death to be a result of the injuries he sustained in the shooting, the shooter, Ortiz, was expected to be charged with murder.
“Yaseem fought long and hard to recover from his injuries while still being the strong happy kid he was, but sadly lost the battle,” reads a GoFundMe campaign set up to cover Jenkins’ funeral costs. “It saddens us to have to lay him to rest at such a young age. Our family is devastated and heartbroken by his unexpected passing.”
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