ST. ALBANS, Queens (WABC) — An investigation is underway after a 15-year-old boy was fatally shot at a park in Queens on Thursday.
The shooting took place around 6:15 p.m. at Roy Wilkins Park on Baisley and Merrick boulevards in St. Albans, according to police.
They say the incident started as a melee, with several kids on the basketball court fighting and attacking the 15-year-old victim, identified as Jaden Pierre. Only one shot was fired, striking the victim’s upper chest, according to police.
“I heard a shot go off, so I came running over here to make sure everybody was OK, especially my friends,” said AJ, a 19-year-old man who saw the teenagers fighting by the basketball courts.
He saw the boy wounded on the ground.
“I know him from coming over here to play basketball. Good basketball player. Cool kid,” AJ said.
Pierre was taken to Jamaica Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. Community members told Eyewitness News the 15-year-old went to a school nearby.
Police are now looking for the shooter they say is seen in video running away, wearing a gray sweatsuit. No arrests have been made so far.
Detectives spent the evening gathering evidence from around the basketball court and playground.
Neighbors say the park has been safe, and it’s even home to programs aimed at preventing gun violence.
“It is normally pretty safe. But somebody is bringing guns into our community and putting them in the hands of our children,” said Erica Ford of Life Camp, Inc.
“Younger and younger they’re getting guns now,” said a neighbor named Tony.
The younger they are, community advocates say, the more support they need to prevent this.
“Help build programming so these young people can have something to do after school,” Ford said.
Community advocates and neighbors say as the weather warms up, resources for violence prevention are needed more than ever.
The deadly shooting comes less than 24 hours after another 15-year-old boy was killed during a separate shooting at Eisenhower Park in Nassau County on Wednesday night.
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