A 14-year-old boy shot to death in Queens by crook trying to steal his scooter was a happy teen whose death has shattered his close-knit family, his aunt told the Daily News.
Malakai Adams was on his scooter on Beach Channel Drive near Beach 51st St. in the Edgemere neighborhood of the Rockaways when the gunman shot him as the teen tried to fight him off about 3:30 p.m. on Monday, police said.
”He was full of life, like any other kid,” Malakai’s aunt Ashley Adams said in an exclusive interview. “The family is grieving really hard right now.”
Medics rushed Malakai to Cohen Children’s Hospital, where he later died. He was only a few blocks from home when he was shot.
The shooter got away with the victim’s scooter and has not been caught.
Police are on the scene after a 14-year-old was shot and killed in the courtyard of the Ocean Bay Houses in Far Rockaway, Queens, on Monday. (Kerry Burke / New York Daily News)
Malakai “was the oldest of his household. His mom’s first son,” Adams said. “It’s just devastating because he was doing good in life and this is just a very chaotic chain of events that occurred.”
She described her nephew as a typical teenager who played football.
“He was funny. He had his moments when he could be serious, but he was a funny kid. He liked to joke. He liked to have fun,” Adams said. “He enjoyed going outside, hanging with his friends, his family.”
The killer was wearing a black sweatshirt and white shorts, according to police.