Just 19 years of age, Christian Josiah Montrose was shot dead steps away from his Brooklyn home on March 19, 2024. One year later, his family is still searching for answers and tearfully clamoring for justice.
Police believe Montrose was a fatal victim of mistaken identity when an unknown gunman opened fire on him from a vehicle that pulled up alongside where he was standing on East 101st Street in Canarsie, shooting him multiple times.
Montrose’s brother held him in his arms as he lay dying. His family said he had no criminal record and was a good kid.
“The ground right there, that’s where his blood was shed,” his mother, Amanda Montrose, said during a vigil Wednesday night marking one year since the cold-blooded murder.
The Montrose family held the March 19, 2025 community rally at the spot where the teen lost his life to demand cops step up the investigation and find the killer. His mother told attendees that her late son aspired to become a firefighter and wanted to do good in the world. She likewise described him as a devoted son.
“Josiah had a big, beautiful smile. Even when he was upset or I was mad with him, he would say: ‘Ma, you know, I appreciate you, and I love you,” a distraught Amanda Montrose said while weeping. “Some stupid idiot murdered my child.”
She went on to question the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office as to why so many mothers are losing their children to gun violence, and many of these cases remain unsolved.
The family intimately shared memories of the type of loving individual Josiah Montrose as well as stressed that the vigil was both about the gun violence that plagues their streets and the celebration of their loved one’s life.
“They took this loving man away from everybody else, and to say that this injustice is going unheard is craziness,” said Crystal Montrose, Josiah Montrose’s twin sister. “We have to ask, why is it so easy for someone to come roll up on somebody’s house and shoot somebody right there? Why is it so easy to do that?”
Still, no arrests have been made in the year-old murder investigation. Amanda Montrose, however, holds out hope that justice will come and her son’s killer will eventually be caught.
“We are left with no words, just an empty hole in our hearts. Every day we are, I imagine what this monster looks like, but I know one day we will get justice, one way or the other. We will get justice. We will get justice. This coward took my perfect son and shattered his dreams,” she said. “The one thing I promise your mother will feel my pain. Your mother will feel my pain.”
Anyone with information regarding this incident can call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS (for Spanish, dial 888-57-PISTA). You can also submit tips online at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, or on X (formerly Twitter) @NYPDTips. All calls and messages are kept confidential.
