Drive-By Shooting at Bronx Marijuana Outpost Ends in Tragedy
In a tragic set of events that unfolded on Labor Day, a man lost his life and four others were seriously harmed in the Bronx, following a drive-by shooting at a reportedly notorious illicit marijuana outpost. Among those held responsible for this grave incident are five young individuals, the majority of them teenagers, whose charges included murder, announced the authorities on Wednesday.
The individuals implicated in this incident include Martin Heron, aged 21, Murray Shamir, 19, Oulai Kai, 19, Gomez Jose, 18, and an underage adolescent of 16 years, whose identification was withheld due to his minor status. They are being held in custody as suspects in the fatal assault on Jamari Henry, a 24-year-old man, which took place by the Allerton Avenue establishment
The charges against these five extend beyond the murder of Henry. They also stand accused of an attempted homicide, handling firearms unlawfully, and behaving negligently in a way that endangered others. This relates to the hail of bullets which caused harm to four additional males— two aged 27 years, a 25-year-old, and a 21-year-old— but thankfully, these injuries were not fatal, as per the police statement.
The chaotic sequence of events began around 7:30 p.m., when sources from law enforcement report a stolen vehicle, a gray Honda Accord, pulled up to the noted cannabis den. The attackers, two in number, debarked from the car and started an indiscriminate shoot-out, wounding five individuals, including Henry, who unfortunately did not survive.
As responding police units attempted to intervene and stop the culprits in their escape vehicle, a collision ensued. Approximately half a mile from the crime scene, at the crossroads of Hone and Arnow avenues, the suspected vehicle crashed into a Honda Odyssey. One of the alleged participants in the crime, the teen Gomez, was critically wounded in the crash and required immediate medical attention.
According to information released at the time, the violence may be linked to gang activity, however, no validation of this assumption or any particulars regarding the reasons behind the bloodshed have been provided by authorities. This brutal act of gun violence is not isolated but is part of a series of similar incidents that have plagued the Bronx for several days.
In yet another distressing episode of Bronx gun violence, a teenager found himself arrested for murder. This 15-year-old boy, already known to law enforcement, is being held in connection to the fatal shooting of Kelvin Mosquea. This unfortunate episode, which transpired outside the Sack Wern Houses of NYCHA, appears to be a robbery attempt that spiraled out of control.
Then, there was the infamous incident involving an open shootout during a local basketball tournament. This unnecessary act of violence led to the killing of a 32-year-old man named Jaceil Banks, with three others wounded and a 17-year-old girl battling for her life after a stray shot caused severe facial trauma.
Following this incident, several arrests were made. The suspects, aged 16, 17, 20, and 25, were taken into custody in relation to the shootout. Once again, speculations were rife about this crime possibly having gang ties, although official sources have yet to confirm this.
Despite this period of heightened violence, statistical data coming out of NYPD shows a decrease in the number of shooting incidents in the Bronx, from 34 to 27 in the last month compared with August of 2024. Similarly, the count of shooting victims has seen a drop from the previous 49 to 44, recorded this year within the same duration.
For the initial eight months leading up to this point in the year, the Bronx has witnessed cumulative shooting incidents of 186, with victims counting up to 228. This shows a decrement when compared to the same eight-month duration during the previous year, that recorded 224 incidents and 285 victims.