{"id":294016,"date":"2026-07-12T22:20:25","date_gmt":"2026-07-12T22:20:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/294016\/"},"modified":"2026-07-12T22:20:25","modified_gmt":"2026-07-12T22:20:25","slug":"brooklyn-family-remembers-victim-of-harlem-basketball-court-shooting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/294016\/","title":{"rendered":"Brooklyn family remembers victim of Harlem basketball court shooting"},"content":{"rendered":"

HARLEM, Manhattan (PIX11) \u2014 A Brooklyn family is remembering Kinu Rochford<\/a>, a man they say brought light to everyone around him.<\/p>\n

Rochford was shot and killed during a basketball tournament in Central Harlem<\/a>, and on Sunday, loved ones gathered at Wingate Park in Brooklyn, just a block from his home, to honor his life and legacy. The vigil remained ongoing as friends, family, and neighbors came together to share memories and support one another.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Stay connected with community stories that matter: Visit our homepage\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Outside his home, a makeshift memorial of blue and white candles forms a “K,” honoring his favorite color and the impact he left behind.<\/p>\n

Police say just after 10 p.m. Friday, officers responded to shots fired at a basketball court at King Towers on Lenox Avenue in Central Harlem. Officers found three people shot, including 35-year-old Rochford, who was hit in the head. He later died at the hospital. The other two victims are expected to recover.<\/p>\n

Rochford was well known in the community for basketball, not just as a player, but as someone who showed up for others and stayed connected to the neighborhood.<\/p>\n

His mother, Eden Rochford, described him as a source of joy and positivity.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Discover more local reporting on our homepage\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

“He was that guy, he’s funny, he’s positive, he wants everybody to do good, he wants everybody to be happy, so why did they have to take him.. why?”<\/p>\n

She says the support pouring in since his death has been overwhelming.<\/p>\n

“Have you seen social media? I can’t open my phone without and it’s nothing bad; everything that people say about Kinu was positive.”<\/p>\n

Mayor Mamdani also reacted, saying he is heartbroken for Rochford’s family, calling the shooting senseless and pledging continued efforts to prevent violence.<\/p>\n

For Eden, the love surrounding her son now reflects the life he lived.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Get ongoing crime and safety coverage on our homepage\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

“He, himself, is actually celebrating his life because he just has to feel the love.”<\/p>\n

But along with that love comes grief, and questions she says still have no answers.<\/p>\n

“First of all, who comes to a basketball with a gun, why?”<\/p>\n

Still, she says her son’s presence hasn’t faded.<\/p>\n

“He was a light, a shining light and he will always be and still is.”<\/p>\n

Back at Wingate Park during the vigil, his light continues to shine through the crowd gathered in his name, a community holding on to his memory.<\/p>\n

Eden Rochford is now proposing that Wingate Park be renamed in her son’s honor, saying it was a place he loved and where he often played basketball.<\/p>\n

No arrests have been made, and the investigation remains ongoing.<\/p>\n

Submit tips to police by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), visiting\u00a0crimestoppers.nypdonline.org<\/a>, downloading the NYPD Crime Stoppers mobile app, or texting 274637 (CRIMES) then entering TIP577. Spanish-speaking callers are asked to dial 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n

\u00a0For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HARLEM, Manhattan (PIX11) \u2014 A Brooklyn family is remembering Kinu Rochford, a man they say brought light to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":294017,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[4567,79538,98,100,99,112116,469,112115,9,24,63,112114],"class_list":["post-294016","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-basketball","tag-basketball-court","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-eden-rochford","tag-harlem","tag-kinu-rochford","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-wingate-park"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294016","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=294016"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294016\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/294017"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=294016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=294016"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=294016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}