A 16-year-old boy was arrested on Oct. 22 and booked at the 100th Precinct in Rockaway Beach more than two months after he allegedly fired a handgun towards a crowd near an Arverne playground in broad daylight.
The teenager was arraigned in Queens Criminal Court the next day on a complaint charging him with reckless endangerment in the first degree and criminal possession of a weapon, an armed felony offense.
The shooting took place near the Almeda Playground at Beach 65th Street and Beach Channel Drive on the afternoon of Tuesday, Aug. 12. At approximately 1:40 p.m., the gunman opened fire at the crowd and then fled in an unknown direction. No one was injured during the shooting.
Police from the 100th Precinct responded to a radio run for a ShotSpotter notification for multiple shots fired at the location. Crime scene investigators recovered five 9 mm shell casings on the ground, according to the criminal complaint.
A detective from the 100th Precinct obtained and reviewed video surveillance footage from the scene, which shows a man wearing a brown Everlast hooded sweatshirt and dark shorts pull out a handgun, take a shooting stance and discharge the firearm towards the crowd. The detective recognized the teenager from prior interactions he had with the defendant, according to the criminal complaint.
At his arraignment on Oct. 23, Queens Criminal Court Judge Bruna DiBiase set bail at $15,000 cash and $30,000 bond.
