In the late hours of an April evening in South Ozone Park, Queens, a dispute would tragically cut short the life of 29-year-old Kajawn Howard. On April 28, 2021, Howard was near a liquor store on Rockaway Boulevard where a music video was being filmed. An argument broke out between two groups of people, and though they initially separated, the conflict was far from over.
As Howard stood talking on his cellphone, a man named Ashik Zaman approached him.
Zaman, who was 20 years old at the time, pulled a gun from his waistband and fired multiple shots at Howard, striking him once in the torso. In the ensuing chaos, Zaman jumped into a black Infiniti and, as the car sped away, exchanged more gunfire with someone from the other group. A 26-year-old man was also hit by the gunfire, suffering a wound to his back.
Kajawn Howard was rushed to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center by private means, but his injuries proved to be fatal. He succumbed to the gunshot wound the following day, on what would have been his 29th birthday. The second victim was also taken to the same hospital and was in stable condition after undergoing surgery.
The New York Police Department quickly began their investigation. Their efforts led to the arrest of Ashik Zaman of Jamaica, Queens. It was discovered that Zaman was also responsible for a separate fatal shooting that occurred in January 2020, where he killed 39-year-old Kevin Williams over a monetary dispute. Zaman was indicted on a multitude of charges for both incidents, including two counts of murder in the second degree. In June 2024, Ashik Zaman, then 23, pleaded guilty to two counts of manslaughter in the first degree and one count of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree. He was subsequently sentenced to 36 years in prison for his violent acts.
