A 14-year-old boy was shot dead Monday afternoon in Queens during what law enforcement sources believe was a botched scooter robbery.
The teen, whose name police have not released, was struck in the back outside 51-24 Beach Channel Drive in Edgemere around 3:40 p.m., according to the NYPD. EMS rushed him to Long Island Jewish Children’s Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The suspected gunman fled east on Beach 51st Street aboard a two-wheeler, police said. He was wearing a black sweater and white shorts at the time of the shooting.
Law enforcement sources told reporters the attacker may have opened fire while attempting to steal a scooter from the victim.
The killing unfolded in a neighborhood where residents have grown accustomed to violence but remain shaken by its proximity to young people. Rhea Lowe, who lives nearby, said shootings happen “almost everyday” in the area. “It’s directly across the street from a school, there’s too many young people around. That’s dangerous,” she said.
The location of the shooting — directly across from a school — has intensified concern among locals already weary of persistent gun violence in the Rockaways peninsula community.
Police have not announced any arrests in the case. The investigation remains active as detectives work to identify the scooter-riding suspect who escaped the scene.
The Edgemere section of Far Rockaway, where Monday’s killing took place, sits on the eastern edge of the Rockaway peninsula in Queens. The neighborhood has faced economic struggles and crime challenges for decades, though it has seen some redevelopment efforts in recent years.
Monday’s slaying adds to a grim tally of juvenile gun deaths across New York City this year. Multiple teens have been killed in stray-bullet shootings and targeted attacks in recent months, including a 13-year-old boy shot in the head in Queens and a 7-month-old baby girl killed in Brooklyn while on a walk with her mother.
The NYPD continues to investigate the circumstances of the scooter-related shooting and has asked anyone with information to come forward.