BROOKLYN, NY – On Monday evening, three teenagers on their way to a quinceañera rehearsal were the victims of a drive-by shooting in the Borough Park area of Brooklyn, according to police. This incident was part of a wave of gun violence that took another life and wounded two additional victims on the same night.
The teenagers, two 17-year-olds and one 19-year-old, were traveling on a scooter on New Utrecht Avenue near 39th Street when they were reportedly targeted by another two-wheeled vehicle around 8:20 p.m. According to law enforcement, the victims were on their way from a soccer game to their 15th birthday rehearsal at a rental hall when the shooter started tailing and shooting at them.
Joseph Kenny, NYPD Chief of Detectives, stated, “We have video that captures them riding on the scooter and the perp is observed following behind them.” He further added that during the chaos, “The victims then drop their moped and they seek cover.”
Officials initially believed that the teens were hit by BB gun pellets, but it was later confirmed that they were shot by a .22 caliber firearm. All three victims were taken to Maimonides Medical Center and were reportedly in stable condition. The shooter and their motive remain unknown as of Tuesday, as the victims claimed not to recognize their attacker.
Later on Monday night, another man was killed in a shooting in Long Island City, Queens. According to police, during a heated dispute outside a deli on 21st Street near 41st Avenue, an assailant shot 25-year-old Joseph Valdez, an ex-convict, twice in the torso and once in the arm.
Valdez, who previously served more than five years for attempted murder, was declared dead upon arrival at Weill Cornell Medical Center. The suspect, still at large, managed to escape the scene.