At 14, He Stayed Away From Trouble. But a Bullet Flew 100 Yards.

The episodes are believed to be related.

Chief of Detectives Dermot F. Shea said the shootings appeared to stem from a feud between two gangs. “These are young kids with guns,” he said. “Sometimes they forget what they were fighting for.”

A male teenager was questioned on Tuesday about both shootings but not charged in them, Chief Shea said. Instead, he was arrested on an unrelated robbery charge.

Frustrated residents are unable to reconcile such brazen acts with the heavy police presence in their neighborhood. Next to the basketball court where Aamir was shot is a security camera. Across the street, a Police Department watchtower.

The shootings are a symptom of the dearth of resources for youth, said Erica Ford, an area activist who founded LIFE Camp, a nonprofit that aims to stem gun violence.

“There are pockets with no investments in certain neighborhoods,” Ms. Ford said. “There is nothing for these kids to do. It’s like a third-world country.”

But Aamir was an outlier, a boy who had found his calling and built his life around it. He had become one of the brightest fixtures in his corner of Jamaica, a tight-knit community where neighbors watch out for one another.

They knew his grin, the one he flashed that made his deep-set dimples appear. Playful and lighthearted, he had one of those belly laughs, so infectious, even if you didn’t know what was funny. He was charismatic, easy to be around, but took care to show others respect. When he stopped by the local convenience store to order a chopped cheese with jalapeños, he would offer to help the owner stack the shelves.

Source: The New York Times

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Kids with Guns • Adolescence • Robbery • Police • Closed-circuit television • Watchtower • Third World • Polynesian outlier • Jamaica • Happiness • Convenience store • Cheese •