Justin Wallace: NYPD release video of man firing eight rounds that killed 10-year-old boy

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The New York Police Department (NYPD) has released a security video footage that captured the chilling moment when a gunman opened fire, killing a 10-year-old boy, in Queens.

The boy, identified by the police as Justin Wallace, was killed on Saturday night after being shot in front of a home on in the Far Rockaway neighborhood of Queens, New York, not far from the Atlantic Ocean. His 29-year-old cousin, who was earlier identified as his uncle, was wounded as he was shot in the shoulder but is expected to survive.

The footage released by the police showed an SUV driving by the house. A gunman, wearing a hooded sweatshirt, can be seen walking up the house and firing around eight shots shots before running away.

Mayor Bill de Blasio met with Justin’s family and friends, and said in a tweet that “we will bring this child’s killer to justice.”

He said: “Justin Wallace’s 11th birthday is just a few short days away. I met with his family and close friends today. The hopes and dreams his parents had for his life... this murder is as enraging as it is sad.”

Justin was about to turn 11 on Tuesday. “Can you imagine that, man? Three days before his birthday,” his father Albert Wallace said to NY Daily News.

Police said they are searching for the gunman and the motive behind the shooting. But Mr Wallace said that the shooting occurred over a dispute between his sister’s family and their neighbours over a shared driveway.

Mr Wallace and his sister were in the basement when they heard the shots and came running. He told New York Post: “I go to my son, and when I turned him over, I see this pile of blood. And when I saw the pile of blood, I said ‘Justin, Justin, are you OK, son? You’re not responding, You’re not responding’.”

Justin was taken to St. John’s Episcopal Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

“I tell the doctors, ‘Go back in there and pump his chest.’ He’s too young for that,” his father told NY Daily News.

The police has now asked the public for help in identifying the killer.

The shooting comes amid an increase in violent crimes in New York City. NYPD’s crime statistics for the month of May showed that shootings increased by 73 per cent compared to the same month in 2020.