Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Wednesday he’s trying to arrange a meeting with the family of slain 15-year-old Queens boy Jaden Pierre — after facing blowback over his silence on the teenager’s senseless shooting death.
“I shared my thoughts on this the other evening where I spoke about the fact that this was heartbreaking and it was heartbreaking. Not just for what it means for his family and his friends. I know it was also heartbreaking for so many New Yorkers to watch this video and see others simply witness what unfolded, as opposed to step up to address it,” Mamdani said at an unrelated event.
Jaden Pierre, 15, was shot and killed Facebook / Love Stoned
Mayor Mamdani said he is trying to arrange a meeting. Paul Martinka for NY Post“And that is also our responsibility as a city government. I know that I have full confidence in the NYPD’s abilities to hold the individual responsible accountable,” he told reporters.
“We’re also setting up a time to meet with the family. I don’t have the exact time as yet, but that’s a conversation that’s been ongoing.”
Mamdani was ripped by his predecessor, former Mayor Eric Adams, for not speaking up after the brazen, caught-on-video shooting inside Roy Wilkins Park in St. Albans last week.
Asked about the criticism during WNYC’s “Mamdani’s First 100 Days: Lessons From La Guardia” sit-down Monday, Mamdani extended his condolences to Jaden’s family and mentioned “a necessity of recommitting ourselves to ending the scourge of gun violence in this city.”
But he declined to directly respond to Adams.
Police are searching for Zahir Davis, a suspect in the murder. DCPI“A 15-year-old kid was beaten and shot to death at a Southeast Queens playground yesterday. And somehow this isn’t the top story. Credit to AG Letitia James & BP Richards for speaking up,” Adams had written on X.
“Where is everyone else, including @NYCMayor Mamdani? Outrage shouldn’t depend on zip code. Every child deserves protection.”
Mamdani did not attend a vigil for the slain teen on Monday, where family, friends and other lawmakers gathered in mourning.
State Attorney General Letitia James attended the service and urged the shooter to turn himself in.
Jaden Pierre was gunned down in leafy Queens. Peter Gerber“I want everyone to know that the police know who shot Jaden,” she said. “I would urge this gentleman to turn himself in, to surrender as soon as possible, before the NYPD gets to you. They know who you are.”
Mamdani had been invited to the vigil, but instead participated in the WNYC forum celebrating his first 100 days in office. City Hall did not answer questions about why he chose not to attend.
In the days after the April 16 shooting, he posted frequently about other issues — including sharing a video celebrating his continuation of the Adams-era trash containerization initiative, various messages expressing solidarity with building workers who threatened to strike and several posts about his photo op with former President Barack Obama reading to toddlers in the South Bronx.
He even dropped a new self-congratulatory reel of his short time in office, featuring footage from the celebration he hosted at The Knockdown Center in Queens marking his first 100 days.
The mayor’s glaring silence following the tragic shooting was the latest instance of City Hall seemingly fumbling its response to a violent incident.
In February, when a mentally ill man, 22-year-old Jabez Chakraborty, chased police officers with a knife before they shot and wounded him, Mamdani came to his defense, calling on the Queens District Attorney’s Office not to prosecute him.
“No family should have to endure this kind of pain… Jabez needs mental health treatment, not criminal prosecution by a district attorney,” Mamdani told reporters in the days that followed, as he also visited Chakraborty at the hospital.
Big Apple mayors often visit with family and friends after tragic incidents to console them.
When 12-year-old Kade Lewin was shot dead on March 31, 2022, while sitting inside a minivan in Brooklyn, Adams went to see the family within days and held a press conference with the mourning mother — where she asked the killers to come forward.
