Key Takeaways
- Cardi B made a FaceTime call to Nubia Mann, a teen recovering from gunshot wounds sustained at a Brooklyn Sweet 16 party.
- During the call, Cardi B called Mann “chosen” and encouraged her to keep pursuing her dreams.
- Mann’s uncle A.T. Mitchell, NYC’s gun violence czar, has long worked to prevent the kind of violence that injured his niece.
Cardi B reached out to a teen survivor of the Brooklyn Sweet 16 shooting with a heartfelt birthday message, reminding her that the best is yet to come. High school student Nubia Mann celebrated turning 16 in a hospital, where she was recovering after being shot three times during the Dec. 14 party in East New York, suffering injuries to her torso and leg.
The AM I THE DRAMA? artist encouraged Mann to keep her head held high and not let the frightening experience derail her from greatness during what appeared to be a FaceTime call. Footage of their exchange circulating online showed Mann in her hospital bed as she listened to Cardi B speak life over her. Mann is reportedly the cousin of one of the hitmaker’s longtime friends. “I’m sorry for what happened to you, but these are the types of things that just make you stronger, and not only make you stronger, it’s gonna always make your story unique; it’s gonna make you a survivor. It’s gonna make you see life differently,” she said.
“You are chosen. Even though what happened to you, God still has you here. God wants you to live. God wants you to enjoy your life, he wants you to be successful. God wants you to go to college. God wants you to be a business owner,” continued the Grammy Award-winner’s uplifting message. “God wants you to reach your highest potential, and I hope you get many, many more [birthdays], and you’re going to continue having many, many more [birthdays]. Be a good kid, pretty up, be heavy up, and cheer up. This is gonna pass, and this is gonna be one of the best parts of your story.”
What we know about the Brooklyn Sweet 16 shooting
Mann was one of six teenagers wounded when two gunmen opened fire outside an event space near Atlantic Avenue and Warwick Street in the Cypress Hill neighborhood. When she spoke with PIX11, Mann recalled, “I was with my friends, and we were waiting for an Uber. As soon as we closed the door to my friend’s Uber, shots went off, and I just remember me and my friends ran.” She noted, “When the ambulance came, I remember I kept saying that I didn’t want to die.” Like Mann, the other victims fortunately did not suffer life-threatening wounds.
The teen’s family has a long history of combating violence in the community. “This is exactly what I've been working against. This is the first time it has actually struck a member of my direct family," her uncle, A.T. Mitchell, NYC’s first gun violence czar, told ABC 7. Police are still searching for the gunmen.