A 16-year-old surrendered to police on Wednesday and was indicted on assault charges in connection with the fatal shooting of 15-year-old Jaden Pierre at a Queens park last month, authorities said.
The teenager, whose name was being withheld because of his age, allegedly punched and kicked Pierre alongside a group of other boys moments before 18-year-old Zahir Davis pulled a silver handgun from a backpack and shot him in the chest, according to Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz.
He was the second person charged in a killing that drew citywide attention after video of the beating circulated online.
“As alleged, a 15-year-old teen who was ganged up on by multiple teenagers while others watched and took video, was then shot and killed,” Katz said in a statement. “Jaden Pierre, the victim, was unarmed and allegedly did not fight back.”
Davis, of Springfield Gardens, was indicted on two counts of second-degree murder, first-degree gang assault and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon. The 16-year-old, from Brooklyn, was arraigned Wednesday on charges of attempted first-degree gang assault and third-degree assault, officials said.
Queens Supreme Court Justice Bruna DiBiase set the 16-year-old’s bail at $750,000 and ordered him to return to court on June 4. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison.
Prosecutors said the shooting unfolded around 6:15 p.m. on April 16, when a large group of teenagers gathered at Roy Wilkins Park in St. Albans for a water gun fight advertised on social media.
According to the indictment, the 16-year-old and several other boys attacked Pierre, dragging him to the ground before pinning him against a fence. The 16-year-old allegedly punched Pierre in the face, and Davis, who was standing next to him, then pulled a firearm from his bag and shot Pierre in the upper chest, prosecutors said.
Pierre, of South Richmond Hill, was taken to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
He is one of several teenagers killed by gun violence in New York City this year, according to reports compiled by Gothamist, even as the NYPD has reported record-low numbers of murders and shooting incidents during the first three months of 2026.
Davis fled to Jamaica after the shooting and was arrested by NYPD detectives at John F. Kennedy International Airport when he returned to the United States on April 24, according to the district attorney’s office. He had also been charged earlier this month with threatening to shoot his ex-girlfriend, who is the mother of his child, officials said.
The 16-year-old surrendered to detectives assigned to the 113th Precinct after prosecutors obtained an arrest warrant, authorities said. Katz said the investigation into other participants in the assault remains ongoing.
An attorney for the 16-year-old was not listed in court records.