Police said the 15-year-old was expected to survive as detectives searched for teen suspects.
NEW YORK — A 15-year-old boy was shot Monday evening on an A train approaching the 80th Street station in Ozone Park, Queens, sending rush-hour riders scrambling as police searched Tuesday for teen suspects.
The shooting happened just after 6 p.m. on April 27, during one of the busiest travel periods of the day. Police said the victim was taken to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center and was in stable condition. No other riders were reported shot or hurt. The case remained under investigation Tuesday, with detectives trying to determine what led to the gunfire and whether the victim knew the shooter.
Police said the boy was aboard an A train near Liberty Avenue and 80th Street when an argument broke out with other passengers. Investigators believe one person pulled out a gun and fired as the train neared the station. Several riders ducked or ran when the doors opened. A witness, Junior White, said people dropped to the floor after hearing the shots and described the scene at the station as “pandemonium.” Officers who arrived at the station gave aid to the boy before he was taken to the hospital in an NYPD vehicle.
Early accounts of the injuries varied, with police and local reports saying the teen was struck in the torso, chest, neck or back. Officials said he was expected to survive. Police said no weapon had been recovered as of Tuesday. Investigators initially detained two teenage persons of interest after the shooting, but they were later released without charges. Authorities said they were still looking for as many as three teen suspects. The NYPD did not immediately release the victim’s name, and no arrests had been announced by Tuesday afternoon.
The 80th Street station sits on the A line in Ozone Park, a Queens neighborhood served by trains running between Manhattan, Brooklyn and southeast Queens. The shooting briefly disrupted service as officers collected evidence and secured the station. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority reported significant A train delays after the incident, with trains bypassing the 80th Street station during the investigation. The station closure came as commuters were still moving through the system after the workday.
The shooting drew a public response from city officials because it happened on a crowded subway train and involved a teenager. Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said shootings on trains are a tragedy for the city and said officials want more guns kept away from young people. Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he was relieved the boy was expected to survive and called the violence unacceptable. “Violence like this has no place on our subway system,” Mamdani said in a statement.
The case unfolded as the NYPD continued to report mixed signs in the transit system. Police officials have said overall transit crime was slightly down in the first quarter of 2026 after an early-year rise, while robberies and several high-profile attacks have kept subway safety in public view. The department also said it had added officers to the transit system after a difficult start to the year. Monday’s shooting added another case to a series of youth violence incidents in Queens and Brooklyn in recent days.
By Tuesday, police had not said what the argument was about, whether the shooting was targeted or where the suspects went after leaving the train. Detectives were reviewing evidence from the station and train as they continued looking for the weapon and the people involved.
Author note: Last updated April 28, 2026.