A graduation barbecue in Chelsea turned deadly on the evening of June 4, 2025, when 21-year-old Raqiese Cohen was shot while attending a gathering for teenagers from the Robert Fulton Houses. The barbecue, held in front of 431 W. 17th St., drew more than 200 people; police were called about an assault in progress at approximately 9:20 p.m. and found Cohen unresponsive on a bench with a gunshot wound to his neck. He was taken to Bellevue Hospital and was pronounced dead there.

The NYPD is actively investigating and has been searching for the person responsible. Investigators reported three men in black observed in connection with the incident and released a specific description of one suspect: a thinly built male with a dark complexion last seen wearing a blue sweatsuit, fleeing eastbound on W. 18th Street toward 8th Avenue. Surveillance photos and a short video of the suspect have been released; as of early July 2025 no arrests had been announced.

If anyone witnessed the shooting, saw the men in black near 431 W. 17th St. that night, or recognizes the person in the released images, please contact investigators with any information that could help the family and the community.