Two young men are dead and five people were wounded in city-wide shootings between Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, police officials said.
The rash of gun violence came after two consecutive nights where nobody was shot, though daytime shootings are up slightly, law enforcement sources noted.
The most dramatic of these incidents was Friday’s gang style shooting on Rockaway Blvd near JFK Airport in Springfield Gardens, Queens at around 11:50 a.m. in which attackers in a vehicle opened fire on a Nissan Maxima, causing the driver to crash into a fence and into the weeds next to the airport.
Police officials identified the two fatalities Saturday afternoon as Nair Vives, 26, of Deerfield Road in Queens, and Angel Caraballo, 26 of the same address. Police say one of them was on probation for unspecified reasons and both had links to gangs, but investigators were not specific as to what affiliation they may have had.
The shootings picked up after sunset Friday. At 8:30 p.m., police said, a 46-year-old man was shot in the hip in front of 1110 Clarkson Ave. in East Flatbush, Brooklyn.
Officers from the 67th Precinct found the man lying in a doorway, drifting into and out of consciousness, with people from a next-door party trying to stop the wound with a beach towel. Paramedics rushed the victim to Brookdale Hospital and he’s now expected to survive his injuries.
Detectives were seeking a Black man with a light complexion dressed in a gray sweat suit. It was unclear at this time what prompted the attack, police said.
Next door however, police were forced to asked the partygoers to shut down after they exceeded the 10 person capacity rule related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
One woman who would not be identified said they were having a party in honor of their dead grandmother. Several elderly family members were hustled from the party immediately after the shooting.
Fiftteen minutes later, cops from the 70th Precinct responded to a ShotSpotter activation and report of a person shot on Newkirk Avenue and East 23rd Street in Flatbush.
Officers were informed that a 24-year-old man had been shot in front of 754 Flatbush Ave. and had somehow made his way to the 23rd Street location.
The victim was transported by private means to Kings County Hospital with a bullet wound to the left leg. The wound was not serious, police reported.
Police closed off the areas of the shooting, leaving many residents shaking their heads over the incident.
“We didn’t hear a thing over here,” said one neighbor. “These people keep shooting each other around here, so you gotta be careful not to get in the way.”
The motive for the shooting was not clear at this time and may have had gang links, investigators say.
Later in Manhattan, at 10:55 p.m. on Nov. 20, officers from the 5th Precinct reported a 48-year-old man was shot in the leg in front of 388 Pearl St. in Lower Manhattan. EMS rushed the victim to Bellevue Hospital where he was reported in stable condition.
Police reported that the shooting may have been connected to a dispute. There are no arrests at this time.
Back in Brooklyn, at 6:07 a.m. on Nov. 21, a 35-year-old woman was shot in the knee outside of 1509 Eastern Pkwy. in Brownsville. Officers from the 73rd Precinct say two other women were taken into custody, but it wasn’t clear if they were arrested or held for questioning.
The victim was taken to Kings County Hospital in stable condition.
In addition to these people shot, there were several other reported shooting incidents around the city including yet another incident of gunfire at 227th Street and 107th Avenue in Springfield Gardens, Queens. The shooting was about a quarter mile from the Nov. 20 attack where the two men were killed.
Several car windows were hit in the fusillade of bullets in what is also believed to be gang related.
Also, officers from the 75th Precinct recovered a handgun just after 1 p.m. in front of 260 Wortman Ave. near Van Siclen Street in East New York, Brooklyn. Police say a man fired shots at another person, and then fled police, leaving the handgun behind next to a parked car. No arrests have been made thus far.
Finally, officers from the 60th Precinct are investigating a shooting at 8:15 a.m. on Nov. 21 in which a person was shot at 3306 Bayview Ave. in Coney Island, Brooklyn.
A preliminary description of an assailant was a male white, wearing dark clothing who fled in an unknown direction. Additional details are expected later Saturday.
Anyone with information on any of these shootings is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM, or on Twitter @NYPDTips. All calls are strictly confidential.
