An investigation is underway after a 15-year-old boy was fatally shot at a park in Queens on Thursday.<\/p>\n
The shooting took place around 6:15 p.m. at Roy Wilkins Park on Baisley and Merrick boulevards in St. Albans, according to police.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“I heard a shot go off, so I came running over here to make sure everybody was OK, especially my friends,” said AJ, 19-year-old man saw the teenagers fighting by the basketball courts.<\/p>\n
He saw the boy wounded on the ground.<\/p>\n
“I know him from coming over here to play basketball. Good basketball player. Cool kid,” AJ said.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Detectives spent the evening gathering evidence from around the basketball court and playground.<\/p>\n
Neighbors say the park has been safe, and it’s even home to programs aimed at preventing gun violence.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
“Younger and younger they’re getting guns now,” said a neighbor named Tony.<\/p>\n
The younger they are, community advocates say, the more support they need to prevent this.<\/p>\n
“Help build programming so these young people can have something to do after school,” Ford said.<\/p>\n
Community advocates and neighbors say as the weather warms up, resources for violence prevention are needed more than ever.<\/p>\n
The deadly shooting comes less than 24 hours after another 15-year-old boy was killed during a separate shooting at Eisenhower Park<\/a> in Nassau County on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n Stacey Sager has the details on the shooting in Eisenhower Park.<\/p>\n Authorities say it happened at a barbecue designed to attract members of the Bloods gang, an event which was advertised on social media.<\/p>\n ———- Submit a tip or story idea to Eyewitness News<\/p>\n
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