Queens teen shooting: Cops nab prime suspect in murder of 15-year-old boy during park dispute

Zahir Davis, 18, of East 48th Street in Brooklyn, was picked up on April 24, eight days after the deadly shooting of Jaden Pierre, 15, inside of Roy Wilkins Park in St. Albans — a crime that left the community in a tearful rage. 

Davis was apprehended at JFK Airport on Friday night after returning to the U.S. from Jamaica, where he had fled following the shooting, sources familiar with the investigation said. He apparently returned to New York after being convinced by relatives to do so after learning of the shooting.

Pierre was shot dead following a water gun fight and ensuing dispute inside the park off the corner of Merrick and Baisley Boulevards at about 6:15 p.m. on April 16. High-ranking police officials had said they believe the shooting may have been gang-related.

Davis had been identified by Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny as the prime suspect in the fatal shooting. The 18-year-old is a BG4 gang member, an emerging crew that the NYPD has been monitoring for about a year now.

The water gun fight drew hundreds of kids and circulated online in the days leading up to the fight. Kenny stated that Pierre himself was listed as a host of the event. These gatherings have become known as “takeovers” and are becoming an increasing issue for the department.

Police say a feud has been ongoing between Pierre and the teen, who punched him in the caught-on-camera attack before Davis allegedly pulled the trigger. Law enforcement sources said Pierre was first assaulted and taunted by the assailant who threw the punch, whom law enforcement sources have yet to identify, before Davis got involved and brandished the firearm.

“The kid that is doing most of the punching is screaming at him, taunting him, teasing him, while he’s punching him, and then you see the shooter step back. He pulls out the pistol. It appears that he’s trying to pistol whip him, and when he hits him, the gun comes down to his chest, and the gun goes off,” Kenny said at an April 21 briefing. 

It is unclear at this point whether the shooting was intentional. 

Officers from the 113th Precinct responded to the shooting and found Pierre lying near the basketball courts adjacent to the Nautilus Playground with a bullet wound to his chest. EMS rushed him to Jamaica Hospital, where he later died.

Police charged Davis with murder.