Investigators say 15-year-old Jaden Pierre was shot during a fight at Roy Wilkins Park as hundreds of teens gathered nearby.
ST. ALBANS, NY — Police were searching Saturday for the gunman who fatally shot a 15-year-old boy during a fight at Roy Wilkins Park in Queens, a killing that sent young people running from the basketball courts and left a close-knit Southeast Queens neighborhood grieving.
Investigators identified the boy as Jaden Pierre of Queens and said he was shot in the chest shortly after 6:15 p.m. Thursday after a dispute broke out on a basketball court near Merrick and Baisley boulevards. The shooting quickly became a major focus for police and local leaders because it happened in a heavily used public park, involved teenagers, and came as community groups were already trying to keep Roy Wilkins Park a safe place for young people after school and in warmer months.
According to police, the violence started as a large confrontation on the court inside Roy Wilkins Park. Witnesses and residents said the trouble unfolded during a gathering that drew a big crowd of teenagers, with some estimating that hundreds of young people had come to the park for a water-balloon event. Police said several youths attacked Pierre before one shot was fired. The bullet struck him in the upper chest. Witness AJ, 19, said he heard the gunshot and ran toward the court. He said he then saw Pierre on the ground and recognized him from the park, describing him as a good basketball player and “a cool kid.” Emergency crews took Pierre to Jamaica Hospital, but he did not survive.
By Friday, detectives were still working the scene and the wider park, collecting video and tracking witnesses who had been there when the crowd scattered. Police released images of a person wanted in connection with the shooting and said the suspect was seen running away from the area. Local television footage and witness accounts described the person police were seeking as wearing a gray sweatsuit and carrying a dark backpack. Authorities had not announced an arrest by Saturday, and investigators had not publicly laid out a full motive. Officials and news outlets reported that detectives were looking into whether the killing may have had gang ties, but police had not publicly confirmed that theory as the reason for the shooting. One point that has remained consistent in public accounts is that only a single shot was fired before panic spread through the park.
The killing struck a nerve in St. Albans because Roy Wilkins Park is more than a patch of green space. It is one of the main public gathering places in Southeast Queens, with basketball courts, playground areas, youth programming and a recreation center tied to years of community organizing. Local officials have described the park as a neighborhood anchor, and a 2025 agreement involving the Southern Queens Park Association and the city aimed to preserve community access and programming there while a longer-term operating deal was worked out. In that setting, the shooting landed as both a homicide investigation and a blow to a place many residents think of as a refuge. Witnesses said the park is usually active but orderly, and some said the first police response was so large they briefly thought they were seeing a drill rather than a real emergency.
Neighbors, advocates and elected officials responded with a mix of grief and anger. Queens Borough President Donovan Richards said the loss of Pierre at age 15 was “senseless” and devastating, and he mourned with the boy’s family, friends and school community. CBS New York reported that community leaders said Pierre attended Eagle Academy nearby, adding to the shock because the victim was known in the area and had only recently become part of the neighborhood. Another woman who knew him said he was energetic and welcoming to younger players. Erica Ford of Life Camp said the park is normally safe, but she argued that firearms are reaching children at younger ages and worsening conflicts that once might have ended in a fistfight. New York Attorney General Letitia James also publicly lamented the killing, calling it a senseless act of gun violence and offering prayers for Pierre’s family and community.
The case now sits in an early but urgent stage. Police have issued suspect images, appealed for tips and continued reviewing cellphone video that appears to show the moments around the shooting and the flight from the park. A reward of $3,500 has been publicized for information leading to an arrest. As of Saturday, police had not announced charges, identified the shooter by name or said whether more than one person would face possible criminal counts linked to the assault that preceded the gunfire. Detectives also had not publicly said whether the person who fired the shot knew Pierre personally, whether the meeting at the park had been arranged online, or whether any of the youths involved were tied to specific crews or gangs. Those unanswered questions are likely to shape the next stage of the investigation as police examine phones, social media activity and footage recorded by people in the crowd.
The death also came less than a day after another 15-year-old boy was killed in a separate shooting at Eisenhower Park in Nassau County, a coincidence that sharpened concerns about youth violence in and around public gathering places as spring crowds return outdoors. Authorities have said there is no indication the two killings are connected, but the timing added weight to calls from local leaders for more youth outreach and summer programming. In St. Albans, residents said the tragedy felt especially cruel because it happened in daylight, in a familiar place, and in front of other children and teenagers. Several described the scene as chaotic, with young people filming, backing away or running as soon as the shot rang out. What they remembered most was how fast an ordinary afternoon changed. One moment, people were watching a fight; the next, they were watching a teenager die.
As of Saturday, Pierre’s killing remained unsolved and the gunman had not been publicly identified by police. The next major step is expected to be an arrest announcement, a formal release of charges if a suspect is caught, or a broader police briefing if detectives determine more people took part in the attack that led to the shooting. Until then, officers continue to seek tips and review video from Roy Wilkins Park and the surrounding streets.
Author note: Last updated April 18, 2026.