FAR ROCKAWAY, Queens (WPIX) — A day after a man was arrested in the shooting death of a 10-year-old Queens boy, NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said police believe the gunfire stemmed from an ongoing parking dispute.
Justin Wallace was just days away from his 11th birthday when he was killed by a gunshot to the torso. A gunman walked up and opened fire on his Far Rockaway home Saturday night during a barbecue, firing at least eight rounds, officials said.
“There is a dispute over the shared driveway,” Shea told NewsNation affiliate WPIX’s Dan Mannarino. “This is not the first time there has been words over that driveway,” he shared.
Shea said that argument is what started it all, with the suspect returning later in the day armed with a gun.
Police arrested 29-year-old Jovan Young in connection to the shooting Tuesday. Shea confirmed that police believe he is the sole gunman.
He was charged with murder, attempted murder, assault and criminal possession of a weapon, on the same day Wallace would have turned 11.
“His family was planning a birthday for him. Today they’re planning a funeral because of your recklessness. So all of you out there with these guns, put them down,” Queens Borough President Donovan Richards said Sunday after the shooting.javascript:false
There were 594 shooting incidents with 678 victims in New York City so far this year, according to NYPD data. At this point in 2020, there had been 352 shootings with 402 victims.
Six shootings were reported on Saturday.
Submit tips to police by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), visiting crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, 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).