QUEENS, N.Y. (PIX11) --- A Jamaican man was shot and killed near a Queens lounge earlier this month was gunned down over an ongoing dispute in his country, authorities said.
Kardell Lester, 25, of Kingston, Jamaica, and a friend were coming out of the Liquid Lounge when a drive-by shooter opened fire and hit Lester in the head near 199-23 Linden Blvd. at around 1:45 a.m. on May 4, according to NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny. Lester died in the hospital two days later.
"It's like a one-in-a-million shot. This guy standing in a hallway, it goes through the hallway and hits him in the head," Kenny said at a press briefing Tuesday.
Authorities said the shooting was in retaliation for an ongoing feud between two Kingston neighborhoods, Denham Town and Tivoli Gardens, stemming from a 2023 homicide in Jamaica.
"There's been some violence back and forth between these groups. It starts in Jamaica. And when they come across each other, in southern Queens, they seem to get into it with each other," Kenny said.
There have been no arrests and the investigation is ongoing.
Submit tips to police by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), visiting crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, downloading the NYPD Crime Stoppers mobile app, or texting 274637 (CRIMES) then entering TIP577. Spanish-speaking callers are asked to dial 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
Mira Wassef is a digital reporter who has covered news and sports in the New York City area for more than a decade. She joined PIX11 News in 2022. See more of her work here.
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