Channel View Teen Killed on A Train
A 15-year-old Rockaway boy is dead due to gun violence. On Friday, October 14, Jayjon Burnett was killed inside the A Train. An 18-year-old, Keyondre Russell, has since been arrested and charged with murder.
The community is in mourning over the loss of Burnett. He was a junior at Channel View School for Research. A GoFundMe set up by his mother, Regina Alvarez, reads, “Sadly I lost him at the age of 15, six days before his 16th birthday. Jayjon was a smart A student in the 11th grade, wanting to go to college in Florida. He had his mind set on future goals.” Now his family is planning JJ’s funeral services this week.
On October 18, the suspect, Russell was arraigned in court and charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon for allegedly shooting and killing Burnett following a dispute on an A train in Far Rockaway. If convicted, Russell faces up to 25 years-to-life in prison.
According to the charges, based on recovered video surveillance and statements made by the defendant, on Friday, Russell of McBride Street in Far Rockaway, shot the victim, Jayjon Burnett, 15, inside an A train subway car. The victim was found by police at approximately 3:47 p.m., lying on the subway platform on Beach 32nd Street and Mott Avenue with what appeared to be one gunshot wound to the chest. It is not clear what the initial dispute was over. The investigation was conducted by Detective Douglas Sheeler of the New York Police Department’s 101st Detective Squad.
After Burnett was shot, a good Samaritan allegedly pulled Burnett off the train after it arrived at the Far Rockaway-Mott Ave. station. Burnett was later pronounced dead at Cohen’s Children’s Medical Center.
“Just tragic,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “At a bare minimum, we in New York City have a right to use our subways and have the ability to get home safely to our families. The defendant will be held accountable and has been charged with murder.”
A wake will be held for Burnett on Thursday, October 20 at Williams Funeral Home, Inc. in the Bronx from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. Internment will take place Friday at George Washington Memorial Park in Paramus, NJ.
To donate to the family’s GoFundMe, see: www.gofundme.com/f/jayjon-burnett-aka-jj
