Shooting and brawl outside Bushwick NYCHA building leads to 3 arrests
The incident happened just before 8 a.m., around 7:52 a.m., in front of a building on Bushwick Avenue, near a playground at the complex.
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Three men have been arrested after a shooting and fight broke out outside a NYCHA building in Bushwick early Monday morning, leaving a father and son injured, police said.
The incident happened just before 8 a.m., around 7:52 a.m., in front of a building on Bushwick Avenue, near a playground at the complex. According to police, a verbal argument escalated into violence outside the building’s main entrance.
Police say a 35-year-old man, identified as Damon Lawrence, pulled out a gun and fired it. A 65-year-old father was shot in the leg, and his 35-year-old son, identified as Quanell Ricks, was shot in the abdomen.
Investigators say the father and son were able to disarm the gunman during the struggle. Police say the shooter was then struck with a blunt object, believed to be a baseball bat.
All three men were taken to the hospital and are expected to be OK, according to police.
Family members say the shooting happened at a frightening time, as the neighborhood was just waking up and children could have been heading out for school.
“This is absurd,” said Nate Ricks, a family member of the victims. “You’re shooting early in the morning, with kids walking back and forth, school kids going to school.”
The Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office says the incident stemmed from an ongoing dispute between men in the neighborhood and confirmed there are no hate crime charges in this case.
Prosecutors say Lawrence is charged with assault in the second degree and criminal possession of a weapon. Quanell Ricks was also arrested and charged with criminal possession of a weapon related to the baseball bat. Authorities have confirmed three arrests in total, but no charges have been filed against the father yet.
