Seventeen-year-old Xavier Navarez was killed on the evening of November 9, 2024, in Mott Haven. The high school senior, described by family as funny and smart, had been planning to graduate and launch a clothing line, researching fabrics and materials for his business. He was on Oak Terrace, less than a mile from home, when a man allegedly emerged from a building and fired about ten shots; Navarez was struck multiple times in the back. He was taken to Lincoln Hospital and was pronounced dead later that night.

A day after the shooting, a 34-year-old man identified as James Walker turned himself in and was arrested. Walker, who lived in the building outside which the shooting occurred, was charged with murder, manslaughter, and criminal possession of a weapon; investigators recovered a 9mm pistol in a bag behind the building. Reports say Walker knew Navarez, but no motive has been made public. The case was indicted and arraigned in Bronx Supreme Court, with further proceedings scheduled for March 2025.

If anyone knew Xavier, his movements that evening, or has information about what led to the shooting, please come forward.