In the early morning hours of July 14, 2017, a burst of gunfire shattered the pre-dawn stillness on a street corner in the Far Rockaway section of Queens, New York. When the echoes of the shots faded, 28-year-old Kamir Shine was left lying on the pavement at the intersection of Beach Channel Drive and Hassock Street with gunshot wounds to his chest and hip. Despite being rushed to St. John's Episcopal Hospital, his life could not be saved.
The violent encounter also left his 25-year-old brother wounded, struck by a bullet in the chest, though he would ultimately survive the attack.
The investigation into the fatal shooting led authorities to Jamel Cooks, a 40-year-old man from the same Far Rockaway neighborhood. It was determined that shortly after 1:00 a.m., Cooks had approached Kamir Shine and his brother and opened fire on them. The motive for the shooting was not immediately made public. Cooks was subsequently arrested and charged in connection with the incident that claimed a young man's life and forever altered his brother's.
After years of legal proceedings, Jamel Cooks pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the first degree on December 7, 2021. The plea was entered before Queens Supreme Court Justice Michael Aloise. On January 25, 2022, Cooks was sentenced to 19 years in prison for the killing of Kamir Shine. Following his prison term, he will be subject to five years of post-release supervision. The sentencing brought a measure of closure to a case that had devastated a family and highlighted the persistent issue of gun violence in the community.
