The Knicks run to the NBA Finals has been a shot of joy for New York, but for Crown Heights mom Shanae Sanders it has landed as a quiet ache. Her son, Tristan, was 15 when he was fatally shot on Oct. 26, 2024, and she says the family still has no answers and no arrests. As the city roared over the team sweeping the Eastern Conference, Sanders marked the moment at a Radio City watch party while still pressing for justice.
Police say Tristan was shot in the chest on Oct. 26, 2024, on the grounds of the NYCHA Albany Houses on St. Marks Avenue. He was taken to Kings County Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, and investigators have not made any arrests, according to Patch. Local reporting noted that earlier that same weekend he had attended a memorial for another teenager, before the shooting at Albany Houses, highlighting a spike in youth gun violence that month, as detailed by Gothamist. Family members and community advocates have repeatedly urged witnesses to come forward while police continue to investigate.
Radio City Celebration And Private Grief
The Knicks hosted an official watch party at Radio City Music Hall on May 25, 2026, an event run by Madison Square Garden that sold 10 dollar tickets and donated the proceeds to the Garden of Dreams Foundation, according to Madison Square Garden. Sanders was among those who took in the series clincher in Manhattan while still mourning Tristan, a detail described in a profile of her reaction by the New York Post. For her family and neighbors, the confetti of a citywide celebration has shared airspace with the silence of an unsolved killing.
Family And Advocates Demand Answers
One year after Tristan’s death, family members held a vigil near the Albany Houses and were joined by members of Not Another Child, a survivor-led support group, organizers told News 12 Brooklyn. “We still don't know who pulled the trigger,” Sanders said at the gathering, and the family announced a reward for information leading to an arrest, according to the same report. Sanders has also pressed housing officials and police for lobby security footage she believes could help identify suspects.
How The City's Highs Collide With Ongoing Violence
The Knicks sweep of the Cleveland Cavaliers, which clinched their first trip to the NBA Finals since 1999, has been splashed across national coverage and league platforms, with recaps and analysis of the four game series posted on NBA.com. Tristan’s killing was one of several teenage shootings in late October 2024 that local reporters and community groups tied to gaps in youth services and trauma supports, as documented by Gothamist. For families like the Sanderses, the city’s playoff high has not dulled the urgency of unresolved homicides.
Police Investigation And Community Asks
The NYPD says the case remains under active investigation and has not identified suspects, according to official briefings reported by local outlets. Patch reported that investigators found shell casings at the scene and were seeking persons of interest in connection with the shooting. Family members say they still have not been given access to building video and are calling on anyone with information to contact authorities, per News 12 Brooklyn. Their push for answers continues while much of the city turns its attention to the Finals.
As the Knicks chase a title that could end a decades-long drought, the Sanders family is waiting on a different kind of win, one measured in accountability, not trophies. The season’s soundtrack of cheers is a reminder that in New York, triumph and grief often share the same block.
