18-Year-Old Arrested In Connection To Shooting Of Teen Basketball Player In 2019

A teenager has been arrested in connection to the 2019 shooting and heartbreaking death of a 14-year-old basketball standout in Queens.

CBS New York reported that the long-sought suspect, Sean Brown, 18, was finally arrested. He is charged with a second-degree murder in the killing of 14-year-old Aamir Griffin. Brown had little to say as he was transferred to New York from California on Saturday. He ignored the media’s queries on his apparent extradition.

Meqanwhile, Brown is also a person of interest in two other shootings in Jamaica dating to Oct. 11, 2019 and July 6, 2020, law enforcement sources said.

The news of the arrest garnered reactions from the neighborhood in Queens. “His parents can be at peace, you know, with themselves because it’s a sad story. He had his whole life ahead of him,” a woman from Queens said.

Griffin was a talented basketball player and student of Benjamin Cardozo High School. The young man was playing ball at Baisley Park Houses on Foch Boulevard in Jamaica, when he was suddenly struck and killed by a stray bullet on Oct. 26, 2019. The fatal bullet was fired from more than 100 yards away and detectives suspected that Griffin was not the target and it was a gang-related shooting.

“A 14-year-old kid just playing basketball, minding his own business, and he was a really good kid, very low key. Not making noise out here. None of that stuff,” said a woman whose grandson played basketball with Griffin.

In 2019, the young basketballer’s death ignited outrage, grief and an outpouring of love in the neighborhood of Queens.

In July 2021, the community gathered to open the renovated court where Griffin was killed to honor his memory and to give kids a safe space to play basketball. Despite the attempts to restore peace of mind in the community, people say that Griffin’s death has left a sense of fear in Queens. However, they do hope that Brown’s arrest will inspire and give courage to children to get back outside and be normal kids again.

Brown, who is also from Queens, is now waiting for his arraignment schedule in court Tuesday. New York Daily News reported that the suspect evaded law enforcement for nearly two years after the killing of the up-and-coming basketball player, whose funeral drew more than 1,000 mourners to the Greater Allen Cathedral.

The untimely death of the victim also generated a citywide outpouring of grief, with the hometown New York Knicks posing for a photo with a team jersey featuring Griffin’s high school number 2.