Teen charged for assaulting boy who was then fatally shot by another youngster in NYC park: DA

A teen was nabbed for allegedly delivering the final punch to a boy before another youngster fatally shot him during a brawl at a Queens park last month.

A 16-year-old was arrested and indicted on Wednesday for beating up Jaden Pierre, 15, before he was fatally gunned down in Roy Wilkins Park on April 16, according to Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz.

The teen was indicted alongside 18-year-old Zahir Davis, who is accused of pulling the trigger on Pierre during the bitter gang-fueled brawl, prosecutors said.

The 16-year-old, of Brooklyn, was allegedly among a rowdy crew of teens who began assaulting Pierre at the park in St. Albans after gathering for a water gun fight advertised on social media around 6:15 p.m.

The teen, acting with other youths, “repeatedly punched, kicked, and berated,” the unarmed 15-year-old, officials alleged.

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.