Police Hunt For Gunman Who Killed 10-Year-Old Boy At Queens Home; Release Video

The New York Police Department has released a video showing a gunman opening fire at a Queens home during a barbecue party, killing a 10-year-old boy and wounding a man.

The video released Sunday shows the gunman, who pulled up in a black SUV, spraying bullets towards the home on Beach 45th Street in Far Rockaway around 9:30 p.m. Saturday.

Of the eight rounds the unidentified assailant fired at the home during the barbecue party, one struck Justin Wallace in his torso. Another hit Justin's uncle, 29-year-old Kyle Forrester, in the shoulder. He is currently in the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries. Forrester was hosting the barbecue.

Trigger warning: The video may be disturbing to some readers.

The boy’s father, Alber Wallace, was also present at Forrester’s home at the time of the incident. Though the child was rushed to St. John’s Episcopal Hospital, he was pronounced dead later, reports ABC News.

While authorities are yet to establish a motive behind the crime, officers suspect the shooting was sparked by a dispute over a driveway that happened earlier the day involving Forrester and his neighbors.

According to the deceased boy’s father, they were about to leave Forrester’s home when his sister asked him to check out a home maintenance problem in the basement. "That’s when I turned back with my son," Wallace told NY Daily News. "If I didn’t turn back, my son would be alive today."

He said that on hearing a commotion upstairs, he rushed from the basement to the doorway where his son had been standing.

"We rush upstairs to find out what’s going on, if one of the kids fell down the stairs and if everything was OK," Wallace said. "It was my nephew lying there with blood."

He then saw his son on the floor next to Forrester. "I see my son laid down at the door, curled up," Wallace said. "When I turn him over, I see this puddle of blood. And I’m saying, ‘No no no.’ And at the time I heard a [sigh], so I don’t know, that could probably be the last breath he take, because he had internal bleeding."

While the family initially believed that their next-door neighbor was the shooter, police sources, according to NY Daily News, said Sunday afternoon the neighbor turned out to have “an ironclad alibi” and is not the gunman.

However, officers believe the dispute may have somehow led to the shooting. Earlier in the evening, Forrester’s neighbor had flown into a rage after he parked in their shared driveway to unload the food.

This incident is the latest of the shootings that have shocked the city. Figures say the shooting incidents in New York City have risen by 77% this year, through May 30. While 637 people were shot so far in 2021, it was just 360 during the same time last year.

Mayor Bill de Blasio has expressed his shock and anger over the incident, calling it a "profound injustice."

"Justin Wallace should be alive right now. He’s dead because of a coward’s act. He had his entire life ahead of him. It’s a profound injustice. His killer will be brought to justice. To his family: your city shares your anger, it shares your sadness. We mourn with you," de Blasio tweeted.