Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

One killed and six injured in New York shootings linked to Sweet 16

Authorities are looking for multiple suspects

James Crump
Monday 23 November 2020 15:30 GMT
Comments
Wisconsin shooting: Multiple injured after gunman targets shopping mall

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The New York Police Department (NYPD) is looking for multiple suspects, after one person was killed and six others were wounded in two shootings linked to a Sweet 16 party.

The first shooting occurred at around 9pm on Sunday outside of a Sweet 16 party being held inside a hall on Liberty Avenue in New York City.

Under current coronavirus restrictions, New York City businesses are able to host customers until 10pm with a 25 per cent capacity limit, while in private residences gatherings are limited to ten people. The police did not say if the party breached any Covid-19 restrictions.

A 17-year-old boy attending the party was shot in the leg during the incident, NYPD deputy chief Michael Kemper said during a news conference on Monday morning.

The 17-year-old was taken to hospital and is expected to recover. Mr Kemper said that it is currently unknown what prompted the shooting.

After the first shooting took place, the police responded to the scene and dispersed the large crowd at the party, according to the Associated Press.

However, some of the guests then moved the gathering down the street to an apartment building in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighbourhood, where the second shooting took place at around 11:15pm.

During the incident, five people between the ages of 14 to 19 were wounded, while a 20-year-old woman was taken to a local hospital, but pronounced dead later that night.

The five other people shot were also taken to the hospital, but Mr Kemper confirmed that they are expected to recover.

The police are looking for multiple suspects, but have not yet released a description of the shooters in either incident.

Witness statements paired with ballistic evidence taken from the scene has led police to believe that there was more than one shooter at the apartment building. Mr Kemper confirmed that no arrests have yet been made.

New York City has seen a dramatic rise in shootings recently, as in October there were 137 shooting incidents, which represents an increase of around 121 per cent compared to the same month in 2019, according to CNN.

There were also 502 gun arrests in New York City in October, which represented a 102 per cent increase from the year previous.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in