Crime and Courts

Teen Charged in Basketball Court Slaying of 14-Year-Old, Extradited to NYC

Aamir Griffin was shot back in 2019 near the Baisley Park Houses

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The 18-year-old arrested last week in California for the tragic 2019 shooting death of 14-year-old Aamir Griffin has returned to New York City where he faces second-degree murder charges.

Police say the teenaged suspect appeared in court Saturday afternoon on murder charges following an Aug. 23 by Los Angeles officials. It's still unknown how long Brown had been out of New York.

Police officers had found Griffin on Oct. 26, 2019, with a gunshot wound at the basketball court at the Baisley Park Houses just after 8 p.m. Detectives had told News 4 that they did not believe the boy was the intended target.

Days later the NYPD released surveillance video of two persons of interest wanted in connection with the South Jamaica homicide. Both parties captured on video were believed to be teens themselves.

An official motive behind the shooting was never released but detectives had long suspected the incident to be gang related.

The NYPD released surveillance video identifying two “persons of interest” in Saturday night’s fatal shooting that took the life of a 14-year-old in Queens.

Brown's arrest comes two months after the Queens community gathered at the very basketball court where Griffin died to honor the 14-year-old with a tournament of the sport he loved so much: basketball.

"I made my first shot ever playing with Aamir," Kamari Edey said at the summer's tournament. "He was really kind, he always help me. He was just my idol."

The South Jamaica community has worked tirelessly to keep Griffin's spirit alive in the almost two years since his death, even completing a renovation of the basketball court where he died with photos of the teen.

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