Three people were killed and eight more were injured after multiple shooters opened fire inside a Brooklyn hookah lounge and restaurant early Sunday morning, just as the venue was closing. Officers rushed to reports of gunfire at Taste of the City Lounge, located at 903 Franklin Avenue in Crown Heights, shortly before 3:30 a.m.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a press conference that the victims were three men, ages 27, 35, and another whose age has not yet been determined, though their identities have not been released. The eight wounded were immediately transported to local hospitals in unspecified condition following the deadly shooting, which took place around 3:27 a.m.
Horror in New York
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No arrests have been made, and suspects have yet to be identified. Investigators recovered 36 shell casings at the 903 Franklin Avenue location, according to Tisch. Another gun was found near the corner of Eastern Parkway, which authorities believe could have been involved in the attack.
Security cameras captured three men running from the area moments after the deadly triple shooting.
Tisch said at the press briefing that the shooting as “horrific” but stressed that it was an isolated incident, noting it comes at a time when crime rates in New York are on the decline.
“We have the lowest number of shooting incidents and shooting victims seven months into the year we’ve seen on record in the city of New York,” Tisch said. “Something like this is, of course, thank god, an anomaly and it’s a terrible thing that’s happened this morning.”
The NYPD has launched an investigation into the early-morning shooting. Footage shared on X showed officers inside the business, standing near shattered glass and a pool of blood.
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Murder and shooting rates in New York are close to record lows, though major felonies remain significantly higher than they were before the pandemic, according to Vital City data. Taste of the City Lounge, the site of the shooting, is known for its Caribbean dishes and features a hookah bar along with live DJs.
The venue, located less than half a mile from the historic Brooklyn Museum, had closed at 2 a.m. on Sunday—about an hour and a half before the gunfire erupted, according to its website.
Neither New York City Mayor Eric Adams nor mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani have issued statements about the shooting, while former Governor Andrew Cuomo—Mamdani’s opponent in the mayoral race—was the first to react.
He wrote on X: “Another horrific mass shooting in NYC last night, as three lives were lost and eight wounded in a senseless, deadly attack. My heart goes out to the victims and to their loved ones.
“Public safety is, and always has been, Job 1. This isn’t the time to defund or dismantle the police. We need more officers, not less, to keep our communities safe.”
