Four people were shot in three separate shootings across Brooklyn on Thursday night as gun violence continues to surge citywide, officials said.
None of the victims’ wounds are considered life-threatening at this time, police say.
The shootings began at 10:30 pm, when a gunman shot an 18-year-old boy in the leg on E. 21st Street by Newkirk Avenue in Flatbush. The victim was transported to Kings County Hospital, where he was treated for his wounds.
Less than two hours later, two men exited a white sedan and opened fire on a group of people about a mile and half away on St. Paul’s Place and Parkside Avenue in Flatbush, investigators said. A 37-year-old man suffered a bullet wound to the back and a 28-year-old woman was shot in the knee. Both were treated for their injuries at Kings County Hospital, officials said.
The third shooting occurred on Union Street between Third and Fourth avenues in Gowanus, where 25-year-old man was shot in the thigh while walking at 1:3o am. Police from the 78th Precinct say the suspect was described as a man in an SUV who opened fired from his window. The victim was reported in stable condition at Brooklyn Hospital.
The late night shootings come amid a wave of gun violence throughout the city, with shootings in Brooklyn over the last 28 days more than doubling last year’s numbers, according to police data. The same period has seen the number of shooting victims more than quadruple, with 153 people shot in Brooklyn since June 22 compared to only 35 last year.
All three incidents are under investigation, and there are no arrests, police said.
Officials blame the increased violence on an alleged shooting war between gangs across the city, and say the proliferation of guns on the streets, the closure of courts, and an inability to get grand jury indictments has also contributed to the gun violence spike.
Other types of crimes in Brooklyn — such as burglaries and assaults — have also risen above last year’s levels over the same 28-day period, although rapes and robberies have somewhat decreased.
To address the rising crime, police have stepped up “high visibility patrols” and have been doing outreach to community groups, officials say.
Anyone with information in regard to 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, on Twitter @NYPDTips. All calls are strictly confidential.
This story first appeared on AMNY.com.
