1 Man Killed, 11 Others Shot And Seriously Injured During Crowded Event In Brooklyn
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – One man was killed and several other people were shot and seriously hurt during a mass shooting in Brooklyn Saturday night.
Video posted by witnesses showed the chaotic moments as police responded to the scene in Brownsville just before 10:30 p.m.
Authorities tell CBS2 a 38-year-old man was fatally shot and pronounced dead at Brookdale Hospital.
According to NYPD Assistant Chief Jeffrey Maddrey, a total of seven men, including the man who died, and five women were struck by gunfire. The victims are between 21-55 years old.
Maddrey says one victim is in very critical condition and is "fighting for his life."
Sources say the gunfire erupted near Brownsville Playground, at the intersection of Christopher and Hegeman Avenues.
According to multiple reports, the shooting started during a local "old timers week" event being held near the park which drew a large crowd to the area.
"We all thought it was firecrackers because, you know, you felt so safe with police presence here. Who's going to think this is gunfire at an event like this? And then when you start seeing the crowd running and screaming, then that's when everything clicked on that, you know, that this is gunfire, so the first thing you're looking for is cover," community activist Michael Thomas said.
Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted just after 12:30 a.m., saying "We will do everything in our power to keep this community safe and get gets off our streets."
The chaos is the latest and bloodiest outburst of violence in New York City in recent weeks. The five boroughs have also been plagued by a skyrocketing spike in stray bullet shootings.
Before the carnage Saturday night, 14 people had been wounded or killed on city streets since the beginning of June.
Police have not identified the 38-year-old killed Saturday night and are still reportedly looking for suspects in the shooting.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-8477 or for Spanish, 1-888-577-4782. Tips can also be sent to the NYPDTips Twitter account or submitted online at NYPDCrimeStoppers.com.
Stay with CBS New York for the latest on the developing story
