FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, February 20, 2025
Manhattan Man Sentenced to 19 Years to Life in Prison for
Shooting and Killing Teenager at Baby Shower in Queens
Defendant Fired Five Shots at SUV Carrying 19-year-old Victim
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that a Manhattan man has been sentenced to 19 years to life in prison for fatally shooting a young man outside a baby shower. The defendant opened fire on a BMW driven by his intended target, and instead struck the victim, who was in the passenger seat. The investigation began in Brooklyn after the victim was dropped off at a Brooklyn hospital.
District Attorney Gonzalez said, “This was an appalling act of gun violence that turned a celebration of new life into senseless tragedy. We have zero tolerance for shootings in our communities, and today’s sentence sends a message that those who commit this type of violence will face serious consequences. My condolences go out to the family of Reon Cambridge for their tremendous loss.”
The District Attorney identified the defendant as Tajai Holman, 27, of Manhattan. He was sentenced today by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Dineen Riviezzo to 19 years to life in prison. The defendant was convicted of second-degree murder on December 17, 2024, following a jury trial.
The District Attorney said that, according to the evidence, on March 6, 2021, at approximately 9:50 p.m., the defendant arrived at a baby shower on Weirfield Street in Ridgewood, Queens. The defendant was carrying a loaded 9-millimeter Luger pistol. At some point, the defendant became upset with another guest. When the guest left the event, at approximately 12:53 a.m., the defendant ran after their 2018 BMW X6 M and fired five times at the rear of the vehicle. None of the shots struck the BMW, which was carrying 19-year-old Reon Cambridge in the passenger seat.
Furthermore, according to the evidence, approximately an hour later, at 1:52 a.m., the guest drove back to the baby shower with Cambridge again in the passenger seat. The defendant stepped in front of the vehicle and fired five more times. Cambridge was struck once in the forehead. He was dropped off at Brookdale Hospital Medical Center in Brooklyn, where he died.
The defendant was arrested on May 19, 2021, following an investigation by the 67th Precinct.
The District Attorney thanked KCDA Detective Investigators, the Digital Evidence Lab, and the Bureau of Litigation Technology for their assistance on the case.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Andrea Orlando, Deputy Chief of the District Attorney’s Red Zone Trial Bureau and Assistant District Attorney Amanda Schaefer, also of the Red Zone, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Chow Yun Xie, Deputy Chief of the District Attorney’s Homicide Bureau, and under the overall supervision of Assistant District Attorney Leila Rosini, Chief of the Homicide Bureau.
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