2 N.Y. teens sentenced for fatal shooting of 3-year-old in 2024
01/06/2026 8:30 am PST
BUFFALO, N.Y. (TCN) -- Two teens have been sentenced for their roles in a 2024 shooting that killed a 3-year-old boy and injured his 7-year-old sister, the Erie District Attorney’s Office announced on Jan. 2.
On June 21, 2024, Buffalo police responded to a shooting where two children playing outside had been hit by gunfire. One of the victims, Ramone “Red” Carter, 3, was shot in the back, and his 7-year-old sister, who has not been named by authorities, was grazed by a bullet. Carter was pronounced dead after being transported to an area hospital, and his sister was treated and then released.
Police apprehended 14-year-old Jahaan Taylor and 16-year-old Elijah Mumford near the scene based on clothing descriptions by eyewitnesses. An illegal handgun was found on Taylor. The district attorney’s office said Taylor fired shots from the illegal weapon at a group of other teens with intent to cause the death of a person and that the children were not the intended targets. The investigation found that two guns were used in the shooting, but the second gun was never recovered.
The jury reached its decision after deliberating for five hours following a four-day trial in October 2025. Taylor was sentenced to 15 years to life imprisonment on murder and attempted murder charges, the district attorney’s office announced. Mumford was sentenced on a manslaughter conviction to 15 years of state incarceration followed by five years of post-release supervision.
The Inquistr reports Mumford was denied youthful offender status and Taylor got the maximum sentence possible for a juvenile offender.
According to WBKW, defense attorneys for Taylor and Mumford argued the teenagers were still children themselves at the time of the shooting; Erie County Court Judge Susan Eagan told them, “You are not the victims here.”
Carter’s mother, Shakenya Griffin, said at the sentencing “Even though they’re going to be in jail, they’re still living, and I don’t have my son. And I always wanted to have a baby boy, and my baby boy is gone.”
WBKW reports Taylor and Mumford will spend time in an adult prison after they turn 21.
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