Thursday, June 9, 2011

1 dead, 4 wounded in Brooklyn near Brighton Beach; suspect in custody By C.J. SULLIVAN, REBECCA HARSHBARGER and BOB FREDERICKS

One person was fatally shot and four people were wounded, one critically, near Brighton Beach this evening as hundreds of youths swarmed the area with schools closed for "Brooklyn-Queens Day."
"It's a bad combination of guns, heat, beer and angry young men," a police source said, pointing to empty malt liquor bottles strewn all over The Boardwalk.
Cops had one suspect in custody, and an FDNY spokesman described the scene as "utter chaos."
"Just watched some idiot kid let off 8 rounds into a crowded beach," said @djslicknick on Twitter. "I saw like 4 ambulances. It was a madhouse."
Two of the victims, a male and female, were taken to Coney Island Hospital. The woman died some time later. The male was not expected to live.
A third, a 23-year-old male, was shot in the elbow and was taken to Lutheran Medical Center.
Witnesses described a wild scene with bullets flying and people running and screaming.
"I saw the kid that got shot in the back, he was running away and got hit. He turned, looked at me and fainted dead away," said Jorge Mela, a student.
Another saw one of the shooters taken into custody.
"The cops grabbed one who had a helmet on and he was trying to run away to his motorcycle. The cops grabbed him and threw him down and put the cuffs on," said Kendall, a student who only gave his first name.

The 5:20 p.m. shootings at Brighton 6th Street and The Boardwalk didn't surprise neeighbors who've gotten used to trouble on previous Brooklyn-Queens Days.
"These kids come not to swim, they come for turf fights," said Pat Singer, president of the Brighton Beach Neighborhood Association.
"It's a problem every year. All day long you see are hundreds of teenagers, of course you're going to have problems," Singer said.
Cops are investigating and had few details.
But Singer said crowds of teens had swarmed the beaches throughout the steamy afternoon and police sirens could wailed almost constantly.
Tomorrow is the traditional senior cut day and neighbors are bracing for the possibility of more problems as well, sources said.

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