Teen Fight Goes Horribly Wrong

People die everyday due to many different reasons. It could be a heart attack, cancer, or even old age. It's a normal thing, but a 15 year old boy being shot in a park in broad daylight is not normal. In mid-April Jaden Pierre was fatally shot on video in Roy Wilkins Park in South Jamaica, Queens after an altercation or fight of some-type happened with half a dozen other teenagers around Jaden’s age, all surrounding him. Nobody helping, nobody trying to stop it. These kids were just sitting there recording and laughing, until there was nothing left to laugh about. 

Photo credit: New York Times

As of Thursday Apr 30, 2026, the suspect who shot Jaden has been apprehended. He was identified as 18 year old Zahir Davis. He’s since been charged with second-degree murder, and could face 25 years if convicted. It was now clear over the course of the next few weeks that an ongoing gang related beef with the victim and the defendant caused the initial altercation, but nevertheless this situation has reverberated across neighborhoods, and now across the city. The more people who are aware, the better.

I even took it upon myself to interview a few people here at Forsyth Satellite Academy. The first person I interviewed was Tony, the Community Schools Director at Forsyth. Tony has over 10 years of experience working with NYC DOE students. He said, “I’ve seen how these random acts of teen violence have hurt young adults' future prospects, and how these situations could be solved without violence.” Tony has also experienced these acts of teen violence in his high school years and has seen how damaging it’s been for the NYC community. 

I also spoke to Mike, the Dean here at Forsyth. He definitely had a few interesting words: “Kids don't care unless someone is dead, they need to just do better. Nowadays kids have no empathy, they would beat you up in front of your parents if they wanted to.” Mike also expressed that he does not like the conflict and it could be easily resolved without violence.

I also interviewed Alisa, a resident of Jamaica, Queens. She had explained to me that, “Gun violence in this country is tragic and has really failed our youth, especially. I see it as a reflection of just how much the United States’ culture glorifies violence and punishment rather than children’s safety. But I feel fortunate to have never personally been made to feel unsafe in Jamaica.” She also speaks deeply about the environments that these young teenagers surround themselves with, “There are lots of schools around me, and some of the teens I’ve met in my neighborhood are kind and care a lot about their community. The teen gun violence that does arise seems to be the result of what happens when young men, in particular—lack the sense of community that I’ve seen their peers benefit from. Sometimes those kids turn to gangs or form groups that are fueled by anger, fear, and loneliness; when they have such easy access to guns, the consequences are really tragic.” Finally she adds, “The Wilkins shooting is absolutely heartbreaking. May Jaden Pierre rest in peace. My heart sincerely goes out to his family and I think everyone who’s able to should consider contributing to the grieving family’s GoFundMe. If I ever encountered teens fighting in the park, I would try to deescalate the situation to the best of my ability. I’d encourage other adults around me to do the same. I think we owe it to our youth, and our entire community, to step in during conflicts like that so long as the situation isn’t too unsafe to do so.” These responses from Alisa were so impactful, and are definitely greatly appreciated.

Photo credit: CBS News

Now, honestly my final thoughts is that; this is disgusting behavior and begs the question, what is it going to give for a change in these inhumane acts of violence? This killing was just another example of how this generation of teens is out of control, and that all citywide youths need to understand that the choices they make will affect them in the long run, good or bad, and not even just the youths themselves, families get involved as well and have to deal with a burden of having a child buried under the ground.