A 14-year-old boy was shot in the leg near Rufus King Park in Jamaica, Queens on Saturday afternoon, police said, in an attack that left the teen in stable condition and a gunman still on the loose. Police responded around 4:52 p.m. to 153rd Street and Jamaica Avenue, where officers found the boy suffering from a gunshot wound to his left thigh. He was taken to Jamaica Hospital.
According to New York Daily News, the shooter was described as dressed in all black and fled the scene on foot in an unknown direction. Police said no arrests have been made, and the teen was believed to be the intended target of the attack, though the shooter's identity and motive remain unclear.
A Troubling Anniversary at the Same Park
The shooting fell almost exactly one year after another 14-year-old boy was shot in the thigh near the same park on September 5, 2025. Other incidents tied to the park are described below.
In a separate April 2026 incident, a 13-year-old boy was hospitalized after being attacked with a machete, knives, wooden logs, and metal poles during a robbery outside the park's grounds, per the Hindustan Times, in an assault where the victim was robbed of his backpack and shoes.
A Park With a History of Gun Violence Prosecutions
Rufus King Park has also produced some of Queens' more significant violent crime prosecutions. Gang leader Chance Goode was sentenced in March 2025 to 28 years to life in prison for second-degree murder and weapon possession stemming from a daylight robbery and fatal shooting inside the park in October 2020, according to the Office of the District Attorney Queens County, which noted the victim was shot after a dispute during a marijuana deal arranged online. Hoodline previously covered that gang leader's 28-year sentence. The gunman in that same 2020 killing, Torren King, was separately sentenced in October 2023 to 19 years in prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter, having also pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a weapon in an unrelated case, per the district attorney's office.
Law enforcement's focus on the park extends beyond individual shootings. In June 2023, an 18-month joint investigation dismantled an active narcotics and illegal firearms distribution network operating inside Rufus King Park, resulting in a 70-count indictment that charged the main suspect with drug distribution, weapons possession, and conspiracy, according to PIX11.
Shelters, Stop-and-Frisk Monitoring Add Strain
The 103rd Precinct covers Jamaica, the Queens Daily Eagle reported, noting the precinct conducted the highest number of stop-and-frisk stops in Queens in 2020. Local conditions in Downtown Jamaica have also drawn attention.
Youth-involved gun violence has surfaced elsewhere in the same precinct in recent years. In January 2025, ten teenagers and young adults aged 16 to 20 were wounded when four gunmen opened fire outside an event hall in Jamaica, firing more than 30 rounds into a crowd, according to NYPD statements relayed by local news outlets. In March 2024, a 21-year-old gang member pleaded guilty to manslaughter for the 2019 mistaken-identity shooting death of 14-year-old Aamir Griffin at a South Jamaica playground, per the Office of the District Attorney Queens County, which said Griffin was playing basketball when a rival gang member opened fire from across the street.
As of Saturday's shooting, investigators had made no arrests, and the motive behind the attack on the 14-year-old boy remained unknown, leaving the case as the latest unresolved episode of violence tied to the park's grounds.
