In the early morning hours of November 12, 2020, a sudden burst of violence shattered the quiet of a Cambria Heights, Queens neighborhood, leaving a young man dead and his family searching for answers that have yet to come. Stephane Julien, a 25-year-old Black male, was fatally shot outside his home in a brazen attack that also wounded two of his friends. The community was left in shock, grappling with the senseless loss of a young life.
Julien, who had moved to the United States from Haiti in 2009, was sitting in the driver's seat of a Nissan Altima with his friends, Mitchell Maharaj, 24, and Niles Malivert, 25, at approximately 1:30 a.m.. It was then that a man, described as having dreadlocks and wielding a high-powered firearm, possibly an Uzi or a Mac-10, opened fire on the vehicle. The hail of bullets struck Julien in the head and neck, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. His two friends were also wounded in the assault but survived their injuries.
The sound of the gunshots awakened Julien's father, who was inside the family home, unaware that his son was the target of the deadly violence unfolding just outside.
In the wake of the shooting, a makeshift memorial with prayer candles and a Haitian flag marked the spot where Julien's life was cut short, a testament to the grief that enveloped his family and friends. His older brother expressed profound sorrow and confusion over the violent act that took his sibling. The motive for the shooting remains a mystery to investigators, and despite a description of the shooter, no arrests have been made in the case. The New York Police Department's investigation is ongoing, but the absence of significant leads has left Julien's loved ones in a painful state of limbo, still waiting for justice to be served.
