Crown Heights lounge, Canarsie restaurant shootings kill three, wound at least 12

Three people were killed and multiple others wounded early Sunday when gunmen opened fire inside the Taste of the City lounge in Crown Heights, police said, while a separate shooting in Canarsie left four people injured after shots were fired from the street into Richard’s Restaurant and Bar. Officers responded to the Crown Heights scene just before 3:30 a.m., and investigators recovered at least 42 shell casings inside the lounge, from 9mm and .45-caliber weapons.

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, speaking at a later press briefing, said the violence in Crown Heights "appeared the shooting stemmed from gang violence." Tisch also called the killings "a tragic, senseless act of violence." Authorities said there were no immediate arrests and that investigators believe at least four shooters fired dozens of rounds inside the hookah lounge and restaurant.

Officials reported three men among the dead, with ages reported as 19, 27 and 35. One account, cited by friends to the New York Daily News and mentioned in other coverage, identifies the 35-year-old as Jamel Andre Childs and says he was killed after trying to stop a fight that preceded the shooting; that identification has not been confirmed by police in the materials provided. New York City emergency crews transported multiple wounded to local hospitals with what authorities described as non-life-threatening injuries.

Details on the wounded differ across reports: one official count described 11 victims in total, with eight men and three women, and another outlet’s headline listed nine wounded. Commissioner Tisch’s briefing included the 11-victim framing even as some published age ranges conflicted with a 19-year-old fatality; investigators have yet to release a consolidated victim roster to reconcile those discrepancies.

At the Crown Heights scene, detectives also reported finding a firearm in a nearby street, and the mayor’s office mobilized crisis management teams to provide trauma services and to facilitate mediation with victims’ friends and families to try to prevent retaliation. Authorities asked the public to call NYPD Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS with information about the shooting.

Separately, early Sunday morning a gunman reportedly fired from the street into Richard’s Restaurant and Bar in Canarsie, wounding four people, two women and two men. Police described those victims as in stable condition and said the Canarsie incident was being investigated as a targeted shooting; the initial Canarsie account did not include shell-casing or weapon-caliber details and did not report arrests.

Both investigations remain active. Investigators in Crown Heights have collected forensic evidence, including the 42 casings, while detectives in Canarsie continue to canvas for surveillance footage and witnesses. With no arrests announced in either case, police continue to piece together timelines and motive, and have asked anyone with video or eyewitness information to contact NYPD investigators.