Teenager shot dead in Jamaica's Rufus King Park Monday afternoon, six 'persons of interest' arrested: NYPD – QNS

A 16-year-old boy was shot Monday afternoon in Rufus King Park in Jamaica, leading police from the 103rd Precinct to arrest six persons of interest in connection with the incident.

However, no one has yet been charged in connection with the shooting, according to a police source close to the investigation. The youth was inside the park near 153rd Street and 90th Avenue around 4 p.m. when a gunman opened fire, hitting him once in the leg.

“There were people running around, we weren't sure what was happening, and then we saw the paramedics coming,” said Jamaica resident Erica Rodriguez. “The child was bleeding, but the paramedics had been working on him for a while.”

Paramedics transported the victim to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where he was listed in stable condition, police said.

Officers and a K-9 unit from the 103rd Precinct flooded the park and arrested six people for questioning. Two firearms were recovered from the persons of interest, according to the police source.

“This is the second shooting I know of in this park,” said a teenage witness to the shooting, wishing to remain anonymous for fear of reprisals.

“We need [a] a better public safety presence here,” she said. “It’s scary that people shoot so recklessly. It's sad.”

No one has been charged in the shooting and the investigation is continuing, according to an NYPD spokeswoman.

Anyone with information regarding this shooting is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or, for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA ( 74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, or on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) @NYPDTips. All calls and messages remain confidential.

Through June 9, the 103rd Precinct reported 10 shooting incidents that injured 13 victims so far in 2024, not including the 16-year-old boy who was shot Monday. The 10 shooting incidents doubled the 5 reported at the same time last year, a 100% increase, according to the latest CompStat report.