Four people were shot in overnight shootings city-wide, however, none are serious after days of relentless gunfire and homicides that have taken scores of lives since the beginning of summer.
The ongoing violence has led to the creation and expansion of numerous stop the violence groups who are now reaching out to victims families and showing up at shootings to encourage peace and prevent the kind of revenge killings that have been seen, most recently in the Bronx where the brother of a man shot dead while walking with his 6-year-old daughter, was arrested for killing two of three men he believed were responsible for the murder.
Police also say they have made an arrest in two of the most recent homicides, and suspect the same man may be involved in other felonies throughout Brooklyn. Police believe a small number of people are responsible for most of the shootings plaguing the city and are addressing with stepped up patrols, high visibility posts, and intense detective investigations.
Police arrested Hason Rink, 41, of Lefferts Avenue in connection with two shooting deaths in the last week.
Detectives from Brooklyn Major Case Squad grabbed Rink in Brooklyn and are charging him with the shooting deaths of Deondraye Moore, 20, of Lott Avenue on July 2 at 41 New Lots Avenue in Brownsville and with the more recent shooting of building porter Ancil Blackman, 39, of President Street in front of a Crown Heights church on July 24.
The motive in these shootings is not immediately clear, but both were said to have been involved in disputes with Rink sometime before each shooting. The NYPD says he has arrests for criminal possession of marijuana and criminal possession of a weapon from 2005.
The Brooklyn District attorney office says Rink has confessed to both killings. Rink was previously arrested in 2006, but the firearm he was nabbed with was an air rifle.
Police have also released photos of young men involved in two separate shootings that resulted in the death of three people. In the first case, police provided a video of two young men who shot a 22-year-old at the candle-light memorial for two teens killed on Sunday night on a basketball court in Cypress Hills.
The man was shot in the shoulder by two attackers Monday night, even as police from the 75th Precinct were sitting nearby. It’s the second such attack at a memorial, the other in June where a rapper was shot dead at the Lincoln Houses, and then another man was shot as he mourned the loss.
Police say the two men fired their weapons and then fled in a maroon Dodge Charger. The victim is in stable condition at Brookdale Hospital.
In the second case, several young men are being sought for the shooting of a 33-year-old man out shopping for food.
On July 27, at 3 a.m. the man was shot in front of 515 West 125th Street in Harlem. One of the two men pulled a gun and shot the victim in the neck before fleeing in a vehicle westbound on West 125th Street with another male. The victim was removed to Mt. Sinai/St. Lukes Hospital in stable condition.
Police provided a surveillance photo of one of the two wanted for questioning in connection to an assault.
Police have also identified the victim of yesterday’s shooting on Avenue D in East Flatbush yesterday as Zion Millette-Selby, 22, of East Flatbush. Police are still seeking suspects in that case that is believed to be gang related.
Councilwoman Farrah Lewis released a statement on the murder:
“Last night, 22-year-old Zion Millette-Selby was shot and killed on Avenue D near Troy Avenue. With the pull of a trigger, his life was tragically cut short. Our community has experienced yet another traumatic event, haunted by the sound of gunfire and the cries of a devastated family.
“Zion was a young man who always greeted me as I walked to and from the District 45 office formerly located at 4517 Avenue D, a few blocks away from where he was fatally struck last night. He wanted to pursue a career in carpentry and with the support of Elite Learners, Inc. was in the midst of completing his OSHA training to earn his license. Sadly, his dreams will never be fulfilled.”
Here’s a rundown of overnight shootings:
July 28, 7:57 p.m. – A 29-year-old man was shot twice in the buttocks as he was riding an electric scooter at Clarendon Road and East 28th Street in Flatbush, Brooklyn.
Police from the 67th Precinct said the scooter rider told them that a black sedan, possibly an Infinity, pulled beside him and fired at him. He somehow made his way to Kings County Hospital where he was reported in stable condition.
July 28, 10:46 p.m. – A 33-year-old man was shot in the leg in front of 952 St. Marks Avenue in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Police from the 77th Precinct found him at that scene and EMS took him to Kings County Hospital in stable condition. Police say he has been “highly uncooperative” in the investigation.
July 28, 10:45 p.m. – A 20-year-old man was shot in the left arm in front of 80 East 110th Street in Harlem. Police from PSA 5 and the 23rd Precinct found spent shells at the Lehman Village Houses, a NYCHA development.
The victim was taken to Metropolitan Hospital but was said to be uncooperative in the investigation.
July 28, 10:19 p.m. – A 34-year-old man was shot in the leg at West 142nd Street and Frederick Douglas Blvd. The victim was taken to Harlem Hospital by private vehicle where he was in stable condition.
Police from PSA6 and the 32nd Precinct believe the shooting occurred at Drew Hamilton Houses, a NYCHA development. It was unclear who might have fired the shots, police say.
There were also reports early this morning of shots fired on Nostrand Avenue in Flatbush where police found spent shells. It was unknown if anyone was hit by the fusillade of bullets.
Anyone with information in regard to any of these incidents 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 or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All calls are confidential.
In addition, the Sergeants Benevolent Association continues to offer $21,000 reward for any information on the murder of 1-year-old Davell Gardner shot in his stroller along with three others at a cook-out on July 12. He was buried on Monday.
