Shots fired, slashing near MetroTech complex in Downtown Brooklyn

A gun-toting suspect fired shots outside the busy MetroTech office complex in Downtown Brooklyn Tuesday morning, according to police.

There were no reported injuries from the gunplay that happened in the vicinity of Bridge Street and MetroTech Center around 10:40 a.m. on Oct. 4, an NYPD spokesperson said.

Shortly after a man got slashed in the face at a nearby subway station, but police couldn’t immediately say if those incidents were connected.

Police found around a half-dozen bullet casings at the scene of the shooting.

Eight to 10 men were seen fleeing west on Bridge Street, the NYPD rep said.

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A nearby electrician said he heard an argument escalate into gunfire.

“I was in the Porta Potty, taking a p*ss, and then three seconds it’s like yo, yo, boom, boom, boom,” recalled Jarrett Richardson. “Just one after the other — and you know it was not fireworks.”

“It just sounded like your typical hood interaction,” Richardson added. “There was yelling, it was quick.”

Numerous police units have secured the area by around 11 a.m., according to a security announcement heard at MetroTech Tuesday.

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Minutes later around 11:03 a.m., a man was slashed in the face outside the Jay Street-MetroTech station near Willoughby Street, cops said.

The victim was brought to a hospital in stable condition, according to the authorities.

The office complex is home to a New York University outpost and several schools and government offices.

NYU’s campus security sent out texts and social media warnings, urging people to “run, hide, or fight.”

“If you are in the area: Run, Hide, or Fight. Others stay away. Help is on the way,” reads the social media statement.

NYU Alert-Report of (Shots Fired) near 2 MetroTech Center, BK) If you are in the area: Run, Hide, or Fight. Others stay away. Help is on the way.

— NYU Campus Safety (@NYUCampusSafety) October 4, 2022

One local student at the scene said officials should beef up safety at the campus.

“I think they should get more safety knowing that it’s right near a university and there’s a school right there,” said Arunagiri Ravichandran, a robotics graduate student at NYU. “Glad it didn’t happen in front of the school… no one got hurt.”

The Downtown Brooklyn plaza has been the scene of repeated gun violence in recent years.

In 2021 a 19-year-old NYU student caught a bullet in the arm. Two years earlier in 2019 another 27-year-old man was shot in the butt, and in 2018 another argument devolved into a shooting, which luckily didn’t injure anyone.

This story is developing. Check back later for more updates.

Officers investigate the scene of the shooting in Downtown Brooklyn on Oct. 4.Photo by Ben Brachfeld

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