In the late hours of a Friday night in Springfield Gardens, Queens, a burst of violence cut short the life of 18-year-old Akim Cisse. On September 27, 2024, between 10:15 and 10:20 p.m., Cisse was a passenger in a gray Nissan Altima with three other young men in the parking lot of a McDonald's on South Conduit Avenue. What began as an argument inside the fast-food restaurant escalated with tragic finality outside.
As the car drove past, a figure emerged and fired approximately three shots into the vehicle. One of those bullets struck Akim Cisse in the back of the head.
Rushed by private means to a nearby hospital, Cisse was in critical condition. Despite medical efforts, he had lost brain function and succumbed to his injuries the following morning. The young man, who had just celebrated his 18th birthday four days prior, was a recent graduate of Transit Tech Career and Technical Education High School in Brooklyn, where he had been a member of the basketball team. His school remembered him as a friend and brother to all.
The investigation by the 105th Precinct detectives led them to 18-year-old Rayvon Phillip of Jamaica, Queens. He was arrested at his home on October 2, 2024. Authorities identified Phillip as a reputed member of the BG4 street gang. The shooting was believed to be part of an escalating conflict between BG4 and a rival gang, FMB, to which Cisse was allegedly affiliated. Phillip was initially charged with second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon.
In July 2025, Rayvon Phillip, then 19, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the first degree. He was subsequently sentenced to 21 years in prison, to be followed by five years of post-release supervision. The death of Akim Cisse was described by the Queens District Attorney as a 'completely senseless act of gun violence' that triggered a year-long gang war with retaliatory shootings across Southeast Queens.
