Two gunmen wildly opened fire in a Queens project courtyard — fatally striking a 24-year-old man, video shows. The victim, Jabeon Bivins of Hempstead, Nassau County, was struck in the head and pronounced dead on the scene.
Bivins was a former basketball star at Baldwin High School and was once one of the best players on Long Island.
“What a shame,” said Darius Burton, the victim’s head basketball coach at Baldwin High School. “He was a hardworking kid who wanted to be the best he could be on that basketball court.”
Police released surveillance video that shows a group of young men scattering for cover all around the Redfern housing project. One gunman fired 20 bullets from a .45-caliber handgun, while the other fired five times from a .40-caliber handgun.
At this point it’s unknown whether Bivins was the intended target. But another life lost due to senseless gun violence.
The video shows two shooters, one in a gray hoodie, the other in a red hoodie, fleeing into one of the buildings. But the two unidentified men remain at large.
Bivins was arrested last year on drugs and weapon possession charges. It seemed his life had hit a bit of a rough patch.
“He’d gotten in some trouble recently but was trying to work that out,” said Hassan Corley, the victim’s grieving uncle. “He was a very special kid. He was quiet but he was talented. He stayed to himself most of the time. … He spent most of his time at home on the [PlayStation 5].
“We loved him. I can’t believe this happened to him. … He died Monday, and he called me and my kids Sunday night. The funny thing is he just called to tell my kids he loved them. I’m going to make it my business to find these killers.”
Bivins played basketball at Baldwin High School for three years after moving over from Hempstead, according to Burton. Bivins led the team in scoring and made the all-county team.
“What a shame, to be that young, and how it happened,” said Burton. “It’s a sad day, a very sad day.”
At least 27,887 people have died in the United States this year due to gun violence. Access to these killing machines is too easy and death is entirely too prevalent. What could’ve possibly triggered this reaction?
Why don’t we care enough about our fellow humans to be more radical in our fight against gun violence? Why aren’t we banging down the doors of the Senate and demanding that common sense gun laws be passed?
As a nation we’ve become too desensitized to violence, it has left us paralyzed. Just another name of someone we don’t know whose life was taken because of guns. It’s only when we’re personally impacted by tragedy that it becomes real.
But why wait? Why not work to ensure that getting guns becomes next to impossible? Why not work to eliminate existing military grade and non-hunting weapons?
Polling data indicates almost three-quarters of Americans think that gun violence is a big or moderately big problem. It’s the one issue you can get a majority of Americans to agree on. So why aren’t we doing anything?
