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

Authorities are looking for multiple suspects

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.