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THE NEWSPAPER OF JAMAICA, HOLLIS & ST. ALBANS
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June 25-July 1, 2021
AGONY IN FAR ROCKAWAY
Family, grieving community says goodbye to 10-year-old shooting victim Justin Wallace
BY LLOYD MITCHELL
Family, school friends and a
community said an emotional
goodbye to 10-year-old Justin
Wallace on Monday during his
funeral service at Full Gospel
Tabernacle in Far Rockaway.
Wallace’s life was taken
from him by a single gunshot
on June 5 at a home on Beach
45th Street in Edgemere. The
suspected shooter, Jovan
Young, allegedly opened fire on
the youngster and his 29-yearold
uncle in an incident stemming
from an ongoing dispute,
reportedly over a shared driveway.
Wallace’s uncle sustained
bullet wounds to his neck and
hand, which were treated at
Jamaica Hospital.
Young turned himself into
police days later and is currently
facing murder charges
for a crime that outraged a
city on edge for months while
gun violence has increased at
a staggering rate amid the ongoing
COVID-19 pandemic.
Wallace died just days before
his 11th birthday, and his
scheduled graduation from
elementary school. A number
of his former classmates and
friends participated in Monday’s
service with Wallace’s
family.
Queens District Attorney
Melinda Katz and NYPD Chief
of Community Affairs Jeffrey
Maddrey also took part in the
The casket of Justin Wallace is brought out of Full Gospel Tabernacle in Far Rockaway, Queens on June 21, 2021.
service, comforting mourners
while also paying their respects
to the slain youngster.
The grief proved too much
for some in attendance. Several
of Wallace’s family members
collapsed during the
viewing and were treated by
paramedics.
Wallace’s brother-in-law,
Ryan Piccock, described the
victim as an intelligent child
who loved math and was “an
absolutely joy to be around.”
Community resident Nicole
Johnson said, “our babies
are dying before they get the
chance to even live.”
“I hope and pray this makes
a change. We shouldn’t be burying
a child here,” added community
Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
member Juane Kingston.
Wallace is the youngest
shooting victim so far to have
his life claimed by gun violence
which year to date has
seen 687 people shot across the
five boroughs.
Vol. 9 No. 26 44 total pages
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