Marquise Byfield, a 16-year-old male from Brooklyn, was killed on the afternoon of April 24, 2026, after a violent encounter followed him into a corner store in East New York. He had entered Livonia Deli & Grocery at 909 Livonia Avenue, near Ashford Street and close to the New Lots Avenue subway station entrance, when another teenager came in behind him. What began as a confrontation inside the store quickly turned deadly.
Police responded to a 911 call at about 4:16 p.m.
and found Marquise suffering from gunshot wounds to his torso and groin. He was rushed by EMS to One Brooklyn Health-Brookdale University Medical Center in critical condition, but he could not be saved and was later pronounced dead. Some reports described him as being shot several times, while others said he was struck at least twice.
Store workers and witnesses described a chaotic scene. The bodega’s owner said Marquise and the other teen were fighting when they came into the store. According to the owner’s account, one of the teens had a knife, and the other appeared frightened before pulling a gun and firing. Employees reportedly dropped to the floor as shots rang out, one near the deli area and another near the cashier. A store worker said Marquise did not appear to be in danger when he first walked in, but moments later an argument erupted and the shooting happened suddenly.
By the following days, a vigil had grown outside the deli. Friends gathered with candles and handwritten messages, struggling to accept that someone they knew had been gunned down in a place as ordinary as a neighborhood store. Residents said the killing felt painfully familiar, another young life caught in gun violence. Marquise’s mother was described as being at a loss for words and not yet ready to speak publicly on camera.
As of the latest available reports, no arrests had been announced. Police had not publicly identified a suspect, but sources and witnesses indicated the shooter may have been around Marquise’s age, possibly 15 or 16 years old. Investigators with the NYPD’s 75th Precinct continued searching for the gunman and asked anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers.
