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Brooklyn teen charged with murder of 15-year-old boy at Queens playground
By
Louis C. Hochman
and
Joe Hong
Published Apr 25, 2026
Modified Apr 25, 2026
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Photo by Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images
By
Louis C. Hochman
and
Joe Hong
Published Apr 25, 2026
Modified Apr 25, 2026
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Police have arrested a Brooklyn teen they say shot and killed a 15-year-old boy at a Southeast Queens playground earlier this month.
Zahir Davis, 18, has been charged with murder in the death of 15-year-old Jaden Pierre of South Richmond Hill, officials say. In a statement on Saturday, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said Pierre was “mercilessly beaten” before being shot during an April 16 gathering at Roy Wilkins Park in St. Albans.
“No parent should ever have to bury their 15-year-old child, and my office will vigorously prosecute this case to ensure justice for Jaden and his loved ones,” Katz said in a statement.
Katz said Pierre had arrived at the park to participate in a water fight advertised on social media. According to Katz, a group of boys attacked Pierre, punching and kicking him repeatedly. Davis approached Pierre during the melee and shot him in the chest with a silver firearm, Katz said.
In addition to the murder charge, Davis, a Springfield Gardens resident, was also charged with gang assault in the first degree and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon, according to the statement from Katz’s office. He had also been charged earlier this month for threatening to shoot his ex-girlfriend, who is the mother of his child.
Davis could face up to 25 years in prison if convicted.
Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said on X that Davis fled to the island of Jamaica after the shooting, but was arrested by detectives assigned to the U.S. Marshals Regional Fugitive Task Force as soon as he landed in New York City on Friday night.
The NYPD described the incident on social media as a “horrific act of violence.” Former Mayor Eric Adams later posted a video that appears to show a group cornering and beating Pierre. In the moments leading up to the shooting, one of the attackers throws Pierre to the ground, but Pierre regains his footing. A crowd surrounding the teens quickly disperses after gunshots ring out.
“When you see that video as many New Yorkers have, you feel a sense of heartbreak at the fact that this has happened to a young person in our city,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani told WNYC’s Brigid Bergin during the station’s “Mamdani's First 100 Days: Lessons from La Guardia” discussion earlier this week.
Pierre is at least the seventh teen to die of gun violence in the city so far this year, according to reports compiled by Gothamist. But the NYPD says overall, the city has experienced record-low murders and shooting incidents in the first three months of the year.
“No matter how many statistics I can rattle off to you about what this first quarter looks like, we still see acts of violence of this nature,” Mamdani said at the WNYC event.
Tagged
brooklyn
public safety
queens
Louis C. Hochman
After about two decades in (mostly) New Jersey-focused commercial print, digital and digital-but-radio-adjacent news, Lou stumbled into member-supported news in early 2021, as the editor and CEO of Montclair Local. There, he (hopes he) expanded enterprise, brought more sophistication to digital storytelling and moved the nonprofit newsroom closer to long-term financial sustainability. He helped lead the Local to its fourth consecutive General Excellence award from the New Jersey Press Association — the NJPA's highest honor with judges noting the paper's work to strip away layers of government opacity, to hold power to account, to make news accessible for more members of the community, to share the stories and concerns of more facets of the community and to tell compelling stories across multiple media. He's excited to continue the same ethic — news as a public service — at NYPR as the New Jersey and suburbs editor, drawing on the extraordinary talents of reporters including Karen Yi and Nancy Solomon. Lou lives in Philly (that commute!) with his partner and their two cats, about whom and about which he speaks incessantly.
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Joe Hong
Joe Hong is the investigative data reporter for WNYC and Gothamist. He previously covered K-12 education for several newsrooms across California. His reporting has led to local reforms in juvenile justice system as well as a state law requiring universal screening for dyslexia. Got a tip? Email [email protected]
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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