On October 14, 2022, 15-year-old Jayjon Burnett was fatally shot in the chest while riding a southbound A train in Far Rockaway, Queens, shortly after school let out. He was a junior, remembered by his family as a straight A student who planned to attend college in Florida. A Good Samaritan pulled Jayjon onto the platform at or near Far Rockaway-Mott Avenue station, where first responders treated him before he was taken to Cohen Children’s Medical Center and pronounced dead.

Police say the shooting began after a verbal dispute between two groups of teenagers on the moving train and that a single gunshot struck Jayjon as the train neared the station. The NYPD arrested 18-year-old Keyondre Russell the next day; he was charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon. Prosecutors described the slaying as a gang-related incident and said witnesses identified Russell in two separate lineups. Russell’s attorney said he had been jumped and shot in the leg and that the gun discharged after that wound, suggesting the bullet may have passed through Russell and struck Jayjon.

Anyone who was on that A train or who has information about the dispute or the moments before the shooting is asked to come forward.