A shooting at a block party in Brooklyn has left one person dead, and eleven people injured.
The incident happened on Saturday night in a playground in the Brownsville neighbourhood of Brooklyn, with the gunfire erupting just before 11pm. A 38-year-old man is reported to have lost his life.
The attack began as crowds of attendees were leaving the annual two-day ‘Old Timers Day’ party, with injured individuals rushed to nearby Brookdale Hospital and Kings County Hospital. A child is reported to be among the injured.
As reported by the New York Post, the violence was preliminarily blamed on two shooters who still remained at large early Sunday morning.
One veteran investigator told the New York Post:
I’ve never heard of 12 people shot in one incident — ever,
This is one of the worst, most brazen shootings I’ve ever seen.
By midnight, detectives had reportedly unearthed one abandoned firearm and were searching for further evidence among the party debris.
Gary Miller, 60, who had been working as a vendor at the party, told the New York Post about how the evening had descended into chaos:
It was chaos, People were breaking down, having outbursts,
We were enjoying the evening and all of a sudden shots rang out,
Shots rang out and the crowd was already dispersing and you heard about 9 to 11 shots and everyone was running and scattering for cover.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted:
We had a terrible shooting in Brownsville tonight that shattered a peaceful neighborhood event. Our hearts go out to the victims.
We will do everything in our power to keep this community safe and get guns off our streets.
There have been no immediate reports of arrests having been made in connection with this incident.
Our thoughts are with those affected by this shooting.
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence contact Cruse Bereavement Care via their national helpline on 0808 808 1677.
Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.