BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — For the families of many Western New Yorkers who lost a loved one to tragedy, 2019 brought sadness, frustration and pain. There are still many crimes that left a mark on this year that have been left unsolved.
It was Saturday, April 6th when 12 year-old Badraldeen Elwaseem was watching TV inside his East Side of Buffalo home when he was shot through the wall by a stray bullet. Elwaseem died on his couch.
“We see these things on TV, but you never think you’re going to be the person with the bullets through your living room,” said Elwaseem’s uncle Raid Elwaseem.
Hundreds canvassed the area after the attack, including Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, leaving flyers on homes and cars, hoping to bring justice for Badr and his family.
“I’m sure someone knows the individual or individuals that fired the guns,” Brown said in April.
Now, more than eight months later, no arrests have been made.
“We’re still investigating, but we’re not at a place where we can make an arrest,” said Erie County District Attorney John Flynn.
It was late August in the Town of Tonawanda when a 31 year-old mother, Danielle Cretacci was shot and killed inside her Ebling Avenue home, in front of her two young daughters.
Cretacci’s two daughters were also shot in the attack but survived. DA Flynn says this case is actively ongoing, but no arrests have been made.
“We are actively following leads,” he said. “We are tracking down leads, we are talking to people and it’s just that the information we have gathered has not collectively lead to enough to make an arrest.”
In late October, 33 year-old Anthony Twentyfive III and 32 year-old Kristin LaBruno were hit and killed by a driver of a 2008 Maserati on Seneca Street and Pomona Place in South Buffalo.
An arrest in this case has yet to be made, but after months of speculation by the community, some even hinting at a cover-up, 7 Eyewitness News chose to identify the driver who the police report says is 34 year-old Antonio Brown from Buffalo.
A source close to the investigation tells us an arrest will be made, and that preliminary toxicology reports show Brown was drunk at the time of the crash.
Still, there is no justice for these families in 2019.
The FBI is offering a $25,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest in Elwaseem’s case and $17,500 for the Cretacci case.
DA Flynn says in Buffalo, homicides and shootings are down 20-30% in 2019.
