Investigators offer $10k for info leading to the arrest of Jamaica teen’s killer

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Votive candles arranged in a heart covered a piece of the basketball court where 14-year-old Amir Griffin was shot and killed last month. Investigators have begun offering a $10,000 reward for anyone who can point them to the gunman. Eagle file phot…

Votive candles arranged in a heart covered a piece of the basketball court where 14-year-old Amir Griffin was shot and killed last month. Investigators have begun offering a $10,000 reward for anyone who can point them to the gunman. Eagle file photo by David Brand.

By Jonathan Sperling

More than two weeks after 14-year-old Amir Griffin was shot and killed on a South Jamaica basketball court, investigators have begun offering a $10,000 reward for anyone who can point them to the person responsible.

CrimeStoppers is offering up to $2,500 for the arrest and indictment of a suspect, while the NYPD is offering $7,500 upon the suspect’s conviction. Anyone with information can call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS or submit tips at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org. Tips can be submitted anonymously.

Griffin was fatally shot by a seemingly stray bullet while standing on a basketball court at the Baisley Park Houses on Oct. 26. The shooting prompted Southeast Queens leaders to state at a media conference that policing is not the solution to stopping gun violence, and to call on the city for more community investment.

Less than two days after Griffin was killed, a 16-year-old girl was also non-fatally shot nearby.

“Police have a role to play, but if police could solve this problem, it would have been solved a long time ago,” said Public Advocate Jumaane Williams at the conference. “An overreliance on police is not helping. We need them to do their jobs and we need to invest in communities so they can do their jobs.”

Police believe that the gunman who killed Griffin was standing near the intersection of Foch Boulevard and Long Street, near Baisley Pond Park. Two suspects seen in the area fled on foot down Lakeview Boulevard East shortly after the shooting.

The two suspects are both described as male — one was last seen wearing a red-hooded sweater and a dark-colored jacket, while the other is described as wearing dark-colored clothing.