The NYPD said a 15-year-old boy was jumped and robbed in broad daylight and is continuing to fight for his life at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center. It happened on October 22, 2025, on 160th Street and Hillside Avenue in Jamaica, Queens. The 13 guys approached him for his sneakers and also made off with $340.
From what the police are saying, these attackers mostly young dudes with medium to light skin tones, a lot of them in black clothes surrounded the boy around 2:15 p.m. Things went from an argument to full-on violence in a heartbeat.
“They started kicking and punching him, and then one pulled a knife and stabbed him multiple times,”
said an NYPD rep in their press release, which was picked up by Audacy. In the mayhem, someone yanked off his sneakers, and the whole group took off running in various directions.
A tweet from X.
Because he is underage, the boy’s name has not been released, but he has several stab wounds. Fortunately, paramedics were able to rush him to the hospital, and doctors there say he is in critical condition, described as touch and go. It occurred outside in an otherwise busy street area lined with shops and whatnot. People in the area reported hearing the shouting and a scuffle, but it happened so suddenly that nobody was really able to intervene.
Cops are on it, digging deep into the case. They’ve got surveillance video from nearby stores showing how the group closed in, the fight kicking off, and the attack itself. Outlets like PIX11 have shared clips of it, and you can see it’s no random thing they seemed organized, trapping him before going at him.
As of today, October 24, no one’s been arrested yet. The NYPD’s asking folks to call in tips to Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS or submit online anonymously.
“We’re hunting for these 13 suspects,”
They said. That footage should help ID them, and they’ve put out descriptions to the public.
This has really shaken up people in Queens and beyond in NYC. Community folks from groups like the Jamaica Neighborhood Alliance are speaking out, worried sick about kids getting violent and how it’s making streets feel unsafe. Over on X it’s blowing up people are venting about weak punishments for stuff like this. One post I saw said something like,
“Heartbreaking that kids can’t even walk home safe anymore,”
and it captures what a lot are feeling.
Sure, some online chatter throws in wild stuff about gangs or race, but the official reports are keeping it straight to what the police know. Mayor Eric Adams has come out strong against it, pushing for more cops in spots like this.
It’s part of a bigger mess with youth crime spiking in the city. A report from the Manhattan Institute points out juvenile shooting victims are up over 80% from 2018 to 2024, right after that Raise the Age law kicked in. Robberies are down a bit overall, but assaults? Still crazy high about 80 serious ones a day in the first half of this year, based on Vital City numbers.
These sneaker grabs aren’t new high-end stuff like that draws crowds looking for trouble. In Queens, they’ve had more than 30 group assaults lately, and it’s screaming for some real fixes. As one expert from John Jay College put it in their rundown, a lot of this comes from money struggles and not enough programs for young people city hall needs to step up with more than just talk.
While police continue to push the investigation, they are clearly counting on the community for help in nailing these guys. Local organizations speak about holding vigils for the kid’s family and rally for better safety. It is a tough wake-up call about how risky it can be for teens in the city, and it has them demanding smarter ways to stop this kind of crap before it happens again.
