One person was killed and four others were injured in a shooting at an illegal end-of-summer party at a Long Island event space, police said.
It was not immediately clear what led up to the deadly incident in Valley Stream, but there was a large presence by Nassau County police in the area of Ocean Avenue for much of early Tuesday morning in the aftermath of the shooting.
Witnesses said the gunfire went down at a space called Dopies around 8:30 p.m. Monday. A semi-automatic gun was used to spray eight bullets into a crowd, striking a number of people, police said at a press conference. A 20-year-old man from Brooklyn was killed and four others under the age of 18 were hurt.
A 12-year-old was shot in his shoulder, according to police, and was recovering at the hospital. Two 17-year-old males walked in to Queens Hospital with injuries to their leg and knee, respectively, while a 17-year-old female from Brooklyn suffered a cut to her hand.
Police said they are looking for a man in dark clothing who was last seen heading to Queens.
"There was 50-60 people there. They didn't all stay around when the shots were fired, so we have a lot of work to do on making this case," Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said.
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One partygoer said that it was a farewell-to-summer event with mostly young people attending, when things turned hostile. Police said the party was illegal because the rental hall was selling tickets at the door and was offering alcohol inside. As a result, the owner of the rental hall could face charges.
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County officials said they will start upping the pressure on owners in order to shut similar kinds of parties down quickly.
People were seen running down the block right after the gunfire broke out. Those who live in the area said it is highly unusual for a shooting or anything of like it to occur in the residential neighborhood.
Video showed officers securing the neighborhood and looking for evidence.
The street remained closed to traffic for hours. An investigation is ongoing.
