Suspect in 10-year-old boy's fatal shooting facing several charges in Queens
FAR ROCKAWAY, Queens (WABC) -- The man suspected in the deadly shooting of 10-year-old Justin Wallace in Queens was arraigned Wednesday -- charged with murder and attempted murder.
Jovan Young, 29, was arrested Tuesday following tips to police, on the day which would have been Justin Wallace's 11th birthday.
The community is now rallying around Wallace's family in every way possible, including holding a vigil on Wednesday night.
Wallace was killed inside his Far Rockaway home Saturday night after being shot in the torso. The bullet struck his heart and left lung.
Young walked, stone-faced, between two detectives, into a waiting car for the ride to central booking Tuesday night.
After the shooting, Young was quickly brought into the 101st Precinct in Far Rockaway, Queens, where he talked to detectives and was released without charges.
But prosecutors said "he was not truthful with respect to his whereabouts and actions with respect to the crime."
He returned to the precinct Tuesday and was charged . Young was arraigned and held without bail Wednesday afternoon.
Young's ex, who did not want to be identified, spoke to Eyewitness News and insisted he is not the man seen on video firing into the home.
"I think he was there at the wrong time...he was there to comfort his friend and didn't know all that was going to happen, I don't believe he was the one who was pulling the trigger shooting," she said.
Police say they believe the shooting stemmed from a dispute over a shared driveway.
"That's right, and that's what really just makes you shake your head here. People out enjoying themselves, over a minor occurrence like that, inconsequential, really. And then you have somebody connected to one of the houses come back and perpetrate this act," Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said.
"The pain that Justin's parents are feeling right now, no parent should ever go through that," Mayor Bill de Blasio said. "No one should ever experience that. I'm going to speak as a parent myself. Every parent fears constantly, deep down, that they might not follow the way it is supposed to in life. You are supposed to see your children live their lives out. You are supposed to leave this earth ahead of them. These parents are grappling with the sudden shocking horrible loss of their beautiful 10-year-old child."
In the Rockaways, cops in the 101 Precinct have been working hand in hand with the community for years. Captain Eric Robinson is the commanding officer.
"It seems everyone retreats to the extremist views, and we don't find anybody in the middle," Robinson said. "And where I saw people in the middle today was right here in the middle of the street. We were thinking about each other, and how we can't have this happen again."
His precinct has partnered with violence disrupters like Kenny Carter.
"The one person who committed that particular act, he's not a representative of me or my community," Carter said.
He says the answer to stopping the violence is to join forces and help the police de-escalate, before things turn deadly.
"Had they had some type of mediation transpire with this particular parking dispute they were having, it could have been settled," Carter said.
Cops credit their partnerships in the community with driving tips that helped them solve this case as quickly as they did.
But it wasn't enough to prevent the death of Justin Wallace.
Wallace was a fifth grader at Challenge Charter School, with his elementary school graduation set for Thursday.
Now, a vigil will be held in his memory after the graduation.
Wallace's funeral will be held Monday, June 21 at Full Gospel Tabernacle at 361 Beach 42nd Street. The viewing will be held from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. and the service will take place at 1 p.m.
A GoFundMe page has been set up for the family of Justin Wallace, asking for donations towards funeral expenses as well as having the possibility to set up a foundation or scholarship program on Wallace's behalf.
ALSO READ | Neighbors react to deadly shooting of 10-year-old in Far Rockaway
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