A violent night in Brooklyn left two migrants dead and another critically injured, with the NYPD suspecting a Venezuelan street gang's involvement. Here's what happened.
Three migrants were shot on Sunday, two of them fatally, in two separate incidents, including one outside the Ryerson migrant center in Brooklyn. The New York Police Department (NYPD) suspects the involvement of a Venezuelan street gang, according to reports.
The shootings occurred around 10:44 p.m., police said.
New York Attorney General Letitia James referred to the incidents as “gun violence” rather than gang violence. In a statement, she said, “Last night, two people were killed and one critically injured in Clinton Hill as a result of gun violence.”
“My office is working with the New York City Police Department and local elected officials to gather information about these shootings and inform the community,” James added. “We must do more to protect our communities from the dangers of gun violence and ensure that all our neighbors have access to the support they need and feel safe on our streets.”
One man was shot in the chest near Flushing Avenue and Steuben Street outside the Brooklyn Navy Yard. He died soon after being transported to Methodist Hospital.
Seven minutes later, two more individuals were shot outside the migrant shelter, according to the New York Post. A 47-year-old man was shot in the head and died, while the other victim, who was shot multiple times, is fighting for his life at the hospital.
The NYPD believes the two shooting incidents, both committed by the same man, are connected and that all those involved were migrants. Investigators suspect the shootings are linked to the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua street gang.
The suspect, who was riding a motorbike, was struck by a car near the second shooting scene and was taken into custody by police.
Federal law enforcement has been increasingly concerned about the infiltration of the dangerous Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang into the U.S. The gang’s growth has been explosive amid the worsening migrant crisis under President Joe Biden, who has been working to increase the number of Venezuelans allowed to enter the U.S.
Federal officials report that apprehensions of Tren de Aragua members were only surpassed by those of the 18th Street gang, the MS-13 gang, the Paisas gang, the Sureños gang, and the “other” gang category, placing Tren de Aragua sixth on a list of over 50 gangs monitored by Customs and Border Protection.
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