FAR ROCKAWAY, Queens (WABC) – The man suspected in the fatal shooting of 10-year-old Justin Wallace in Queens was charged on Wednesday – with murder and attempted murder.
Jovan Young, 29, was arrested on Tuesday following evidence to police, the day that would have been Justin Wallace’s 11th birthday.
The congregation now gathers around Wallace’s family in every possible way, including a Wednesday night vigil.
Wallace was killed at his Far Rockaway home on Saturday night after being shot in the upper body. The bullet hit his heart and left lung.
With a petrified face, Young walked between two detectives into a waiting car to drive to headquarters on Tuesday evening.
Following the shooting, Young was quickly taken to the 101st Ward in Far Rockaway, Queens, where he spoke to detectives and was released without charge.
But prosecutors said, “He was not truthful about his whereabouts and his actions regarding the crime.”
He returned to the station on Tuesday and was charged. Young was charged and held on Wednesday afternoon without bail.
Young’s ex, who did not want to be identified, spoke to Eyewitness News and insisted that he is not the man featured in the video that shot into the house.
“I think he was there at the wrong time … he was there to comfort his friend and didn’t know what was going to happen. I don’t think he was the one to pull the trigger,” she said.
The police believe that the shooting was due to a dispute over a shared driveway.
“That’s right, and that’s what really just makes you shake your head here. People who are amused by such a small event, really irrelevant. And then you have someone connected to one of the houses comes along Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said.
“No parent should ever go through the pain Justin’s parents are feeling right now,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio. “Nobody should ever experience this. I will speak as a parent myself. All parents fear deeply and constantly that they are not living life the way it should be. They should see how their children live theirs. You should leave this earth before them. These parents are struggling with the sudden, terrible loss of their beautiful 10 year old child. “
In the Rockaways, police officers at 101 Precinct have worked hand in hand with the community for years. Captain Eric Robinson is the commanding officer.
“It seems everyone is pulling back on the extremist views and we don’t find anyone in the middle,” said Robinson. “And where I saw people in the middle of the street today, it was right here in the middle of the street. We thought of each other and that this couldn’t happen to us again.”
His precinct has teamed up with violence interrupters like Kenny Carter.
“The only person who did that particular act is not a representative of me or my community,” Carter said.
He says the answer to ending the violence is to band together and help the police de-escalate before things get fatal.
“Had there been some sort of arbitration on that particular parking lot dispute they were having, it could have been resolved,” Carter said.
Police officers attribute driving tips to their partnerships in the community that helped them resolve this case as quickly as possible.
But it wasn’t enough to prevent Justin Wallace’s death.
Wallace was a fifth grader at Challenge Charter School, slated to graduate from elementary school on Thursday.
Now he will remember a vigil after graduation.
Wallace’s funeral will take place on Monday June 21 at the Full Gospel Tabernacle at 361 Beach 42nd Street. The tour takes place from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. and the service takes place at 1 p.m.
A GoFundMe page has been created for Justin Wallace’s family to solicit donations for funeral expenses and to create a foundation or scholarship program on Wallace’s behalf.
ALSO READ | Neighbors react to fatal shooting of 10-year-old man in Far Rockaway
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