On the final night of 2015, just half an hour before the new year, 16-year-old Jihad Jackson's life was cut short by a single gunshot to the head in the Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, New York. A male, known to his friends as J-Rock, he was discovered unresponsive by police at the corner of 109th Avenue and Merrick Boulevard. Emergency personnel pronounced him dead at the scene, making him the last homicide victim in New York City for that year.
Jihad, a resident of Rosedale, had
recently returned from a family trip to Washington, D.C. On New Year's Eve, he went to a friend's house to celebrate with some companions. It was during this gathering that a gun was discharged, leading to the fatal shooting. Initially, police had not made any arrests in connection with the shooting, though they were questioning two individuals.
The investigation later led to the arrest of three people on charges of tampering with physical evidence. The individuals taken into custody were 18-year-old Eduardo Placencia, his 49-year-old mother Natalie Placencia, and her 48-year-old boyfriend, Dorian Carr. Evidence suggested that after being shot, Jihad's body was moved from the Placencia residence on Merrick Boulevard to the street outside, where investigators discovered a bloody cloth in the bushes. Despite these arrests, the firearm used in the shooting was not recovered at the time, and the police investigation was reported to be ongoing. Hundreds of family members, friends, and community members gathered to mourn the teenager's death at a funeral service where he was remembered as a loved young man.
