"I never worried about my son - I lived here all my life and never thought something like this would happen to my son," said Arlene Delgado. Her 16-year-old son, Rafael Sadonte Ward, Jr., was shot in the chest on his way to get a slice of pizza.

Xavier Granville, 17, was shot and killed on the last Friday of the year as he left a birthday party in Queens. The exuberant teen, who lived with his mother and stepdad in Far Rockaway, was known for his mastery at X-Box video games and devouring a bowl of cereal after eating a four-course meal.

+ Complete Series: In Harm's Way

Maria Castro, 39, who nicknamed her son Jay Jay, lovingly remembered that — without fail — he would lose a sock a night. It’s why, she said, she buried her first born in a special denim outfit — and one sock.

WNYC is profiling the life of every child in the city killed by gunfire in our series In Harm’s Way.

Kaiim Vieira was born in a Brooklyn hospital 18 years ago today. He grew into a six-foot-two teen who had a knack for getting folks to laugh even when they didn’t want to. He used to call his mother by the nickname “Muffin.”

Ronald Wallace III had a grin almost as wide as his size 13 sneakers. He flashes it in countless family photos that his parents thumb through in their Brooklyn apartment.