A 26-year-old man was slain, a teenager is clinging to life and five others were wounded in shootings across Brooklyn and Queens Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, police reported.
This follows a weekend of violence that saw more than 50 people shot in numerous incidents.
The shootings come after a weekend that saw more than 50 people shot citywide, and increased efforts by the NYPD to stop the violence. Community groups are also raising awareness about gun violence and appealing to residents to “put down the guns.”
In the latest homicide, a 26-year-old man was shot to death on the corner of busy East 92nd Street and Kings Highway near his home. Police say they received a 911 call at 7:29 p.m. of shots fired and found the victim suffering a severe head wound.
He was rushed to Brookdale Hospital but he could not be saved.
The suspect was said to have been wearing a blue bandana, the sign of the Crips Gang.
Numerous family members rushed to the scene, some frantic over the shooting. One woman, identified as the mother of the victim, broke down in the street in tears after learning her son was shot. She was screaming, “my son, my son is dead.”
Members of the GodSquad and the 67th Precinct were on the scene, gathering information and comforting family members.
Peter Jones, a chaplain and member of the GodSquad expressed outrage that the shooting occurred on a busy intersection.
“When it comes to Black Lives Matter, we need to have the same outrage as when we are killing our own,” Jones said. “When you refer to BLM, how much does it matter and who does it matter to? There are activists like myself out here doing the work and we are trying to make a difference and then before you turn around, there’s another person shot. It feels like, what is all this for – all this marching and protesting – it feels like nothing is working.”
One woman who was comforting the mom, who identified herself as a corrections officer, said she sees the violence every day.
“They simply don’t care, so between this and the COVID, I just don’t understand it anymore,” she said. “We’ve got to stop what is going on here.”
Pastor Gil Monrose, president of the GodSquad of the 67th Precinct Community Council, viewed the crime scene, a sneaker in the street with a river of blood running to a storm drain. He said, “we can’t maintain this level of shooting and violence on the streets of Brooklyn.”
“We are seeing a whole generation of young black men and boys being shot and killed – the ages are getting younger and younger, and that’s concerning for us because we don’t want to create a whole new generation of shooters and a generation of people who will end up dead on our streets,” Monrose said. ” It will take a community effort of parents, families, houses of worship, clergy, mothers and fathers, getting back to things we did before like, going through book bags, checking homes asking what you doing out – noticing that they are wearing a particular color all the time – you can love blue, but I don’t wear blue every single day. So little things like that we need to do more in our community.”
Police officials continue to say the city is still “in the middle of a perfect storm,” created by a chain of events including COVID-19, the proliferation of guns, courts closed, criminal justice reforms have gone awry, Rikers Island prisoners released, lack of jobs, economic pressures, schools closed and general anger among young people turning to violence to solve problems and disputes.
Here’s a rundown of the latest shootings in Brooklyn and Queens:
Aug. 18, 4:55 p.m. – Four people were shot, one hanging onto life, after a gunman opened fired on a group standing in the courtyard of 34-03 21st Ave. in the Ravenswood Houses, a NYCHA development. Police from the 114th Precinct say a male black approached the group and began shooting without warning and then fled in a blue Jeep.
The victims, a 21-year-old man was shot in the head; a 17-year-old male shot in the back; a 19-year-old hit in the left leg and a fourth victim also shot, found at a different location, suffering an unspecified wound. All were taken to Elmhurst Hospital, where the 21-year-old was said to be “clinging to life.”
“I just woke up from a nap, I saw cops running in every direction. One guy was having CPR done on him,” said Trevor Knight, a resident of Ravenswood.
“It was utter chaos, they happen here, not uncommon at all and it needs to stop,” said Gisela Rodriguez, also a Ravenswood resident.
Aug. 18, 11:45 p.m. – A 26-year-old man was shot in the left leg in front of 417 Baltic St. in the Gowanus Houses, a NYCHA development. An unidentified male shot him and ran away, said police from the 76th Precinct.
The victim was taken to Methodist Hospital, where police say he was “uncooperative.”
Aug. 19, midnight – A 39-year-old man was shot twice in the arm and once in the torso during a dispute in front of 655 East 108th St. in the Breuklin Houses, a NYCHA development. Police from the 69th Precinct, who with housing cops have saturated the area because of numerous shootings, were on scene in minutes.
The victim was rushed to Brookdale Hospital where he was in stable condition. He apparently told police he was arguing with one man, but then another man shot him. No description of the suspect was given.
There were also shootings in other areas of the city, including Mott Haven, Bronx, where several cars were hit by bullets. Also in Brownsville early this morning, police reported that crowds were throwing debris at them from buildings.
Police seeking vehicle ID
The NYPD is asking for the public’s assistance in identifying a vehicle depicted in a video and photograph in connection to a shooting that occurred in Flatbush on Tuesday, August 11.
Police say a white SUV passing by 657 East 21 St. was the source of shots fired at an 18-year-old male who was struck in the stomach and left arm. He was last reported in stable condition.
Anyone with information in regard to this incident or any of the other 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.
