RESIDENTS REMEMBER 10-YEAR-OLD
BOY GUNNED DOWN IN EDGEMERE
Kids look at the vigil for 10-year-old Justin Wallace, who was fatally shot in Edgemere. Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.COM | JUNE 11-JUNE 17, 2021 3
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
Three days after the tragic
shooting and death of 10-yearold
Justin Wallace in Edgemere,
residents placed flowers and
balloons on a makeshift memorial
outside of his home on Tuesday,
June 8.
What was supposed to be a
day of celebration was instead
a day of sadness and grief, as
Wallace’s family is planning a
funeral on his 11th birthday.
“As a mother, you would go
all out for your child’s birthday
and he’s not able to be here. Why?
Because of someone deciding to
do bad,” said Wanda McNeill,
whose niece went to school with
Wallace. “How can a child not
reach their 11th birthday? Right
now he would’ve been out with
his friends or having a birthday
party. These posters wouldn’t
say rest in peace; it would instead
say happy birthday.”
Wallace was shot in the torso
outside of the home at 342 Beach
45th St. in Edgemere on June 5.
He later died at St. John’s Episcopal
Hospital, amNY reported.
His 29-year-old uncle is recovering
from a bullet wound to his
shoulder at Jamaica Hospital.
Detectives in Queens picked
up a suspect Tuesday night,
June 8, in connection with a
deadly shooting.
Jovan Young, 29, of Beach
Channel Drive in Edgemere, faces
murder, attempted murder,
assault and criminal possession
of a weapon charges in connection
with the June 5 homicide
that led to Wallace’s death.
According to law enforcement
sources, Young allegedly
shot Wallace and his 29-year-old
uncle in an ambush attack that
occurred at about 9:33 p.m. on
June 5 at a home on Beach 35th
Street off Beach Channel Drive
in Edgemere.
According to McNeill,
there needs to be more policing
in neighborhoods and the
reinforcement of the “stop-andfrisk”
policy to a certain extent,
and not harassment.
Stop and frisk is an NYPD
practice of temporarily detaining,
questioning and at times
searching civilians and suspects
on the street for weapons
and other contraband. During
its height in 2011, the New York
Civil Liberties Union found
685,000 people were stopped
that year. Black and Latino New
Yorkers were stopped at the
highest rates.
“I’m sorry, we need that,”
McNeill said. “It might be a
different statement from some
Black people and that’s fine, and
I understand that, but it’s necessary.
The police doesn’t need to
be defunded; let them do their
job.”T
iffany Lee, who lives in the
neighborhood, took a moment to
say a prayer. A mother of three
boys, Lee said she felt it in her
heart to pay her respects to the
family.
“I don’t know what it feels like
to lose a child. Every time my 14-
year-old goes out, I pray for him
and tell him to come back in the
house when the street lights
come on,” said Lee, a mother of
three boys. “When I grew up in
East New York, Brooklyn, a lot
of my friends were killed and
it’s so close to me. We need some
kind of protection over our children
… there’s just so much going
on.”
Although he doesn’t live in
Far Rockaway, Minister Isaac
Mickens, of Community Checkpoint
Headquarters, traveled
from Brooklyn to speak out
against the senseless gun violence
that has been occurring
across the city and nation.
“We as Americans can stop
these senseless crimes if we
put something in place before
these crimes happen,” Mickens
said. “Everybody does a lot of
talking, but no one is coming
up with solutions. C’mon, this
is America. We can stop these
senseless crimes that are being
carried out in communities.”
Mickens is advocating for
bulletproof community checkpoints
in neighborhoods that
he says will prevent crimes and
create jobs.
“People will be in the booth
24 hours a day. If a community
checkpoint was on the corner
block, the perpetrator would
have never gotten out of the
area, whether he was driving
or walking. We wouldn’t be
out here looking for him; he
would’ve been caught.”
Queens’ local elected officials
and Mayor Bill de Blasio
met with Wallace’s family on
Sunday, June 6. According to de
Blasio, more gun control laws
are necessary.
“We need help from Washington,
Albany, but it’s also going
to take work from the NYPD
and the community,” de Blasio
said.
Queens Borough President
Donovan Richards said he feels
some “relief” to see an arrest in
Wallace’s shooting.
“Tonight, we are feeling a
wide array of emotions. Today
we celebrate Justin Wallace’s
11th birthday without him. He
should still be here with his
family, celebrating all his accomplishments,
the incredible
young man he had become and
the bright future ahead. We will
never forget Justin, and he is
forever in our hearts,” Richards
said. “As we continue to mourn
Justin, we must continue to end
gun violence in Queens. We
need to continue to invest in
our communities and ensure
our families can live safely. We
owe it to Justin and everyone
we senselessly lost to gun violence.
We feel some relief to see
an arrest in this case. This will
not bring Justin back, but I hope
this brings some closure to Justin’s
family and friends. This
is hopefully a step forward to
justice.”
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