A 15-year-old boy is being held without bail after being charged with fatally shooting of a father of three in Queens on Monday afternoon.
The youngster, who was not identified because he is a juvenile, was arraigned in Queens Criminal Court on Wednesday night on charges of second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon for shooting William Alcindor, 66, of Cambria Heights as he was driving on Farmers Boulevard in St. Albans just before 5 p.m. on Sept. 16.
Police said the teenage suspect pulled out a handgun and fired several times during an afterschool melee at an alleyway alongside a Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen at 117-13 Farmers Blvd. One of the shots struck Alcindor in the head, causing him to lose control of his gray 2014 Nissan SUV, which struck a 23-year-old woman who was walking in the crosswalk at 117th Road and Farmers Boulevard.
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said Thursday offered sympathy for the victims’ families while also condemning the young suspect’s choice of murderous violence over simply walking away from a fight with a “rival gang member.”
“Instead of walking away from a verbal altercation with a rival gang member, this teenage defendant allegedly drew his gun and sprayed bullets across Farmers Boulevard in the middle of the afternoon. A 66-year-old father of three is now dead and an innocent pedestrian is seriously injured because of the defendant’s alleged actions,” Katz said in her Sept. 19 statement. “Our thoughts are with the family of William Alcindor and the young woman who is now recuperating from her injuries as we prosecute this completely senseless act of gun violence.”
Officers from the 113th Precinct in Jamaica responded to a 911 call of shots fired at the location and found Alcindor with a gunshot wound to the head. FDNY helped to extricate him from the wrecked vehicle, and EMS rushed Alcindor to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead a short while later, police said.
The 23-year-old woman sustained injuries to her legs and was transported by EMS to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where she was listed in stable condition.
In the aftermath of the shooting, police recovered nine 9mm shell casings on the ground near the corner of 117th Road and Farmers Boulevard.
An NYPD spokesman on Wednesday afternoon could not provide any details on how the 15-year-old gunman was arrested. If convicted on the charges, the youngster faces 15 years to life in prison.
