Boy, 13, is brain dead after being shot in head playing basketball at Staten Island playground

A 13-year-old boy shot in the head playing basketball at a Staten Island playground is brain dead, the Daily News has learned.

The victim was shooting hoops at the Reverend Dr. Maggie Howard Playground when shots rang out 3:55 p.m. Friday. He fled for his life as the shooter fired three times, including the bullet that struck the teen in the head, cops said.

Medics rushed the victim to Richmond University Medical Center in critical condition, where specialists have diagnosed him as brain dead, police sources say.

The victim, a resident of South Beach Houses, is enrolled as an eighth grader at Eagle Academy for Young Men. The middle school is located within the IS49 campus on Hicks St., near the playground, where students commonly hang out after the closing bell, according to area residents.

Police believe the shooting was premeditated and are currently investigating a suspect, although no arrests have been made, according to law enforcement source

“It was a hit,” an NYPD official said.

Following the shooting, worried parents of Eagle Academy students were spotted swarming the courtyard outside the Stapleton Houses, located adjacent to the playground where the grisly shooting occurred.

“They didn’t know who was shot,” said Cindy Perez, whose apartment overlooks the courtyard. “They wanted to know if it was their son.”

Residents of the Stapleton Houses, where a 14-year-old boy allegedly stabbed a Bloods gang member more than twice his age earlier this month, say violent crime is rampant around the NYCHA housing complex.

“I don’t let my kids play around here,” said Bielka Munoz, who has three teen daughters. “Shootings are a problem around here. You never know what could happen.”

Murders in the 120th Precinct where the shooting occurred have skyrocketed 250 percent over last year, with 7 killings to date this year.