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Arrest Made in Fatal Shooting of Teen on Queens Subway; 15-Year-Old Identified

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Police say the gunman who pulled the trigger, firing the fatal gunshot that killed a 15-year-old inside a moving train Friday afternoon has been arrested.

Investigators said Jayjon Burnett, of Queens, was riding a crowded A train heading to the borough’s Far Rockaway-Mott Avenue station around 3:45 p.m. when he was shot in the chest. Police said it came after two groups of young people got into a heated argument, which escalated into violence.

A good Samaritan pulled Burnett off the train while the suspect gunman, wearing all black, fled on foot. EMS removed the 15-year-old and rushed him to a local hospital in critical condition, where he died within the hour.

Late Friday, police said they were looking at MTA surveillance camera footage, but also need witnesses to come forward. Twenty-four hours later, department officials announced at least one arrest in the case, but further details weren’t provided.

“There were numerous people on that train that may have seen or heard what transpired. We ask those individuals to contact our CrimeStoppers hotline,” said NYPD Transit Bureau Chief Jason Wilcox.

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MTA President Richard Davey said that while the incident “was not random, we have seen illegal guns, knives, weapons in our system. We need to get those out. This does not make our jobs any easier.”

The shooting Friday marks the fourth killing within the New York City transit system in two weeks. Three people died since Sept. 30 in stabbings, two in subway attacks and a third on a city bus. Friday’s incident was the eighth homicide overall in the subway system in 2022.

Statistics show that crime on subways and buses is up more than 41 percent in 2022 compared to the same time period in 2021.

Asked Monday about transit safety, Gov. Kathy Hochul said she was evaluating whether additional resources might be necessary.

News 4’s Chris Jose is live in the Bronx with the MTA’s response to the rash violence.

Source: NBC New York

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