Malakai Adams was heading to play basketball with a friend when he was fatally shot at the Ocean Bay Apartments.
NEW YORK — A routine Monday afternoon outing to play basketball ended in tragedy for two teenage friends when 14-year-old Malakai Adams was shot at a Queens apartment complex and later died, leaving a family, a friend and Edgemere residents confronting another act of violence involving a young person.
Police said Adams was shot in the back shortly after 3:30 p.m. at the Ocean Bay Apartments near 51-24 Beach Channel Drive. He was taken to Cohen Children’s Medical Center in critical condition and later pronounced dead. Investigators said Tuesday that no arrest had been made.
Adams had been preparing to play basketball with a friend when he was shot, according to ABC7 New York. Susana Tovar, the mother of the friend who was with Adams, said the two boys had spent time together playing video games the previous night. Her son called her after the shooting, distraught over what had happened to his friend.
Tovar told the television station that she had given her son permission to go outside and had reminded him to be careful. Her account placed the shooting in the middle of an ordinary afternoon for the boys, who were heading toward a nearby basketball court when the violence occurred.
Police later said the shooting was connected to an attempt to steal Adams’ scooter. Authorities said a male suspect fired at the teenager and then fled on the scooter. Investigators had not announced an arrest by Tuesday morning.
Residents described fear and confusion after the gunfire. Theresa Racine, who lives in the area, told ABC7 that children who witnessed the incident described several people on scooters wearing dark clothing and masks. That witness account had not been fully confirmed by police, who publicly described their search as focused on a male suspect who fled on a two-wheeled vehicle.
The shooting added to concern over recent violence involving teenagers in the Rockaways. On Sept. 14, a 17-year-old boy was shot in the chest and arm near Beach 43rd Street and Beach Channel Drive in Edgemere, according to police. He was expected to survive, and no arrest had been announced in the immediate aftermath of that shooting.
Authorities have not said the two shootings are connected. The earlier case occurred about a week before Adams was killed and involved a different location and circumstances. Police had not publicly identified a motive in the Sept. 14 shooting.
At Ocean Bay Apartments, detectives searched the area after Adams was wounded as residents and children gathered nearby. The shooting occurred during the afternoon, when Adams and his friend were outside and heading toward the basketball court, according to the accounts provided to local news organizations.
Police had not released additional information about the circumstances of Adams’ death beyond the robbery investigation and the search for the suspect. Investigators also had not announced whether additional people were being sought in connection with the case.
The NYPD investigation remained ongoing Tuesday as detectives worked to identify and locate the person responsible for the shooting. For Adams’ friend and others who knew him, the case began with plans for an afternoon basketball game and ended with the death of a 14-year-old boy.
Author note: Last updated September 22, 2026.