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A teenager has been apprehended on accusations that he delivered the decisive punch to a boy shortly before another youth shot and killed him during a fight at a Queens park last month.
On Wednesday, authorities arrested and charged a 16-year-old for assaulting 15-year-old Jaden Pierre right before he was fatally shot in Roy Wilkins Park on April 16, as reported by Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz.
The indictment also involves 18-year-old Zahir Davis, who is alleged to have fired the deadly shot at Pierre amid the violent gang-related altercation, according to prosecutors.
Hailing from Brooklyn, the 16-year-old was reportedly part of a boisterous group of teens that attacked Pierre in the St. Albans park. The gathering had initially come together for a water gun fight, publicized through social media, around 6:15 p.m.
Alongside other youths, the teen allegedly “repeatedly punched, kicked, and verbally abused” the defenseless 15-year-old, officials claimed.
Pierre was allegedly dragged to the ground and brought back to his feet with his back against a fence when the 16-year-old allegedly callously slugged him again in the face, authorities said.
Davis then allegedly retrieved a silver firearm from his bag and shot Pierre in his upper chest. The ninth grader at Eagle Academy in Queens was brought to the hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
The 16-year-old surrendered to authorities on Wednesday after a warrant was put out for his arrest on first-degree attempted gang assault and third-degree assault charges, prosecutors said.
Queens Supreme Court Justice Bruna DiBiase ordered him held on $750,000 bond during his arraignment. If convicted, he faces up to 15 years in prison.
“My son was a sweet kid,” his devastated mom Shantelle Weston, 33, told The Post last month. “He was very respectable and he really did not deserve that, he really did not deserve that at all.”
Investigators said they are continuing to probe and search for other youngsters involved in the assault of Pierre before the shooting.
“The events in a residential park that day grabbed the attention of this City. As alleged, a 15-year-old teen who was ganged up on by multiple teenagers while others watched and took video, was then shot and killed by 18-year-old Zahir Davis,” Katz said in a statement. “We are actively investigating
and searching for the other aggressors.”
The 16-year-old will return to court on June 4.
Davis, who faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted, will be arraigned in the Supreme Court on May 20.