By Ivan Pereira
Emotions ran high as hundreds of mourners gathered at a Long Island City funeral home Saturday morning to say goodbye to a rising high school basketball star who grew up in Queensbridge and was gunned down last week in Harlem. Distraught friends called for a stop to the senseless violence that claimed her life.
The funeral for 18-year-old Tayshana Murphy was so packed that dozens of the basketball player’s friends had to be turned away from the Quinn Funeral Home at 35-20 Broadway and wait outside while the service took place.
Murphy, who was known as “Chicken” to her loved ones, was shot in the head Sept. 11 at the Grant Houses housing project in Morningside Heights.
She was a senior at Murry Bergtraum High School for Business Careers, a star point guard for the school’s varsity basketball team and a popular person at Queensbridge even though she had moved out of the neighborhood five years ago.
Her talents on the court impressed athletic scouts from around the country and many college teams were courting her, according to her family.
June Donovan, who lives in the Astoria Houses and frequently hung out with Murphy on the basketball court, remembered her as a friendly person who would never hang with a rough crowd.
“She had this loving personality. She was a joker,” she said.
Tanaisha Williams, Murphy’s sister, echoed this sentiment when she gave an eulogy at the service. Williams broke down several times in front of the overflowing crowd as she talked about Murphy.
“My sister was fearless,” she said. “My sister was everything to me.”
More than 200 people attended the service and many of the people spoke about seeking peace in the community. Although police had not made an arrest in the case as of press time Tuesday, investigators were looking into whether or not gang violence played a part in her death.
Investigators said tensions between young tenants of the Grant Houses and the nearby Manhattanville Houses might have caused the shooting.
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said two suspects, Tyshawn Brockington, 21, and Robert Cartagena, 20, were being sought in connection with the homicide, but NYPD representatives would not comment about the investigation.
Abdul Mohmammed, a member of the Nation of Islam, who spoke at the service, said the youth in the neighborhood should learn from Murphy’s death and stand up against violence.
“Don’t let her life go in vain,” he said.
The teen’s friends said they were disgusted with the violence and were trying to come to terms with Murphy’s murder. Destany Mitchell, 17, said she and her peers were fed up with the eye-for-an-eye culture and want to make a change, but she was unsure how they could effectively bring an end to the violence.
“There is no way we can stop it. I can just pray,” she said.
Later that night, mourners gathered at a makeshift memorial at Queensbridge for a candlelight vigil to teach the youth at the housing project to live in peace.
“Too many parents are out here hurting,” said Queensbridge resident and video producer Suga Ray. “Chicken was powerful. We can unite the city from Queensbridge to Harlem to Brooklyn.”
Gov. Andrew Cuomo also pressed for action against violence among the city’s youth in the form of tighter gun control laws during a breakfast in Harlem Sunday.
“It has been decades where we have been fighting Washington for sensible laws controlling guns and we need those laws passed and we need them passed now. We’re losing too many people out in the streets,” he said to a cheering crowd.
Reach reporter Ivan Pereira by e-mail at ipereira@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4546.
