Three people were killed and eight others wounded when gunmen opened fire inside a Brooklyn hookah lounge and restaurant, New York, United States of America, in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Police said the shooting erupted just before 3:30 a.m. inside Taste of the City Lounge at 903 Franklin Avenue in Crown Heights, around closing time. NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch confirmed that three men, aged 27, 35, and another whose age was not immediately known, were pronounced dead at the scene.
Eight others, five men and three women, suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were taken to nearby hospitals. The oldest victim among them was 61.
According to investigators, at least 36 shell casings were recovered from the lounge, and the shooting is believed to have been sparked by a dispute inside the crowded venue. Detectives also recovered a firearm near Bedford Avenue and Eastern Parkway, though it remains unclear if it was connected to the attack.
No arrests have been made, and the suspects have not yet been identified.
“This is, of course, an anomaly, and it’s a terrible thing that’s happened this morning,” Tisch said, noting that the city is currently experiencing its lowest number of shooting incidents and victims in seven months on record.
Video posted on social media showed NYPD personnel inside the business near broken glass and pools of blood, while paramedics rushed victims into ambulances.
Taste of the City Lounge, which opened in 2022 and serves American and Caribbean dishes alongside a bar and DJs, was also the scene of a non-fatal shooting in November 2024. The establishment sits less than half a mile from the Brooklyn Museum.
Police have launched a full investigation into the shooting.
