The teenager was charged with murder on Friday for the fatal shooting of a 13-year-old boy in Cambria Heights on Monday morning after he turned himself in at the 105th Precinct in Queens Village on Friday, according to police sources.
The 16-year-old person of interest was accompanied by his attorney when he surrendered just before noon on Sept. 26, a day after the NYPD circulated surveillance images of him holding a handgun as he ran from the scene of the crime. He was later charged with murder and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon, police said.
The teenager was the subject of an intense manhunt since the morning of Monday, Sept. 22, after Sanjay Samuel, of 226th Street in Springfield Gardens, was shot in the side of his head in the parking lot of a Dunkin’ Donuts at 208-15 Linden Blvd.
Police say the youngster was on his way to class at Martin Van Buren High School on Hillside Avenue in Queens Village when he stopped to hang out with some friends in the parking lot at around 8:15 a.m. The suspect rode up on a scooter and exchanged words with Samuel. The verbal dispute escalated into violence when Samuel started punching the suspect, who allegedly pulled out a handgun and fired a shot that struck Samuel in the side of his head. The perpetrator ran back to his scooter, while still holding the firearm, and rode off along Springfield Avenue.
EMS responded to the location and rushed Samuel to Cohen Children’s Medical Center in Glen Oaks, where he was listed in critical condition. He remained in a coma on life support with no sign of brain activity for two days. Samuel succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead on Wednesday, Sept. 24.
The homicide investigation remains ongoing.
