Law enforcement officials believe the shooting inside a busy Brooklyn park that left a 21-year-old man dead and others injured was gang related. Lori Bordonaro reports.
What to Know
- Three men were shot in a Brooklyn park Thursday evening, one of them fatally
- Witnesses say the park in Bushwick had been packed with kids playing soccer when the bullets rang out
- Neighbors say the park had been taken over by rivaling gangs in recent weeks
A 21-year-old man died and two others were injured when someone fired shots inside a Brooklyn park packed with children, authorities and witnesses say.
It all started with some sort of dispute when bullets began flying inside Bushwick Playground near Knickerbocker and Putnam avenues around 6:30 p.m., just as a youth soccer league was practicing on the field, according to witnesses.
Cellphone video of the aftermath of the shooting shows one of the victims, the 21-year-old man shot in the back, being treated on the field where kids had been playing soccer; he would later die at the hospital.
A 20-year-old man was shot in the back and elbow and another 20-year-old man was shot in the arm. Both men are expected to survive, police said.
The name of the man who died has not been released.
Henry Garcia's family runs the youth soccer league that was practicing there. He said the majority of the kids there were from 5 to 15. None of the children were hurt.
Neighbors say they've feared this would happen after rivaling gangs took over the park in recent weeks.
Local
"They challenge me," said one woman who did not want to be identified. "Because I always walk my dogs, and they telling me, 'This is our park, this is not your park.'"
That woman said she's called NYPD's community affairs officers in the 83rd precinct multiple times but never heard back.
"I left a message saying, 'You need to come and close the park. Something's going to happen."
Police are investigating, and they say no arrests have been made. Cops did not elaborate on a description of any suspects.
