Twenty-two alleged gang members have been apprehended in connection with a run of violent crimes in Brooklyn and Manhattan.
Prosecutors claim the defendants were involved in 26 shootings between October 2022 and this year, killing one and injuring more than 20 others, including three innocent bystanders.
Surveillance footage reveals the January 2025 shooting of a 16-year-old boy in an East New York grocery store. According to prosecutors, the alleged gunman praised the shooting in a video filmed in the getaway car. “They’re singing, rapping, and celebrating the shooting; they had a successful hunt,” said Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez. “Four guys in the car, all armed, all celebrating that they believe they’ve just killed a 16-year-old boy in the grocery store.”
On Thursday morning, Gonzalez announced the arrest and gang takedown of 22 guys in 26 separate shootings. He claimed 56 guns were seized. “These men, 17 out of 22, have actually pulled the trigger,” Gonzalez added. “Some of those 17 have pulled the trigger on multiple occasions.”
One of these cases was a mass shooting at a Sweet 16 party in December, which injured six teenagers.
Surveillance footage published on Thursday shows the alleged shooters firing over 20 shots into the crowd.
Governor Kathy Hochul attended the milestone announcement. This is your third significant takedown in as many months, so the job being done here is tremendous,” Hochul remarked. “And this, the 22 dangerous criminals who’ve committed horrible crimes.”
The district attorney’s office identified a tiny group as responsible for 60% of gun violence in the borough. “And they’re proud of it, because this is the part that ordinary New Yorkers may not understand,” Gonzalez said. “They want to take credit for the shootings. They want that gang to be represented for its actions against a rival.”
The accused gang members are charged in a conspiracy indictment with murder, attempted murder, and unlawful weapons possession.
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