NEW YORK (AP) - Gunfire at a large, outdoor event in Brooklyn injured at least 11 people late Saturday night, police said.
Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted early Sunday morning that the shooting in the east Brooklyn neighborhood of Brownsville “shattered a peaceful neighborhood event.”
At least six people had been transported to local hospitals, with some in serious condition, a New York City fire department spokesman said just after midnight. He described the scene at the time as “fluid.”
A New York City police spokesman said early Sunday that “11, possibly 12” people had been shot, but that he couldn’t confirm their conditions. He said no arrests had been made.
De Blasio’s tweet didn’t include details, but a notice on the NYC Parks website said programming at the Brownsville Recreation Center next to the playground was canceled because of this weekend’s annual Old Timers Event.
A 2010 newsletter from the parks department described it as a celebration of “former members of the center who went on to success and fame in sports and other endeavors” that’s grown to include concerts and other events. A flyer for the weeklong celebration said Saturday’s Oldtimers Day was to begin at 6 p.m. on Hegermen Avenue.
Calls and emails to the councilmembers organizing the celebration were not immediately returned.
Videos posted on social media showed police clearing large groups of people out of the area around the recreation center following the shooting. Photos from local news outlets showed several people taken from the scene on stretchers, including some with what appeared to be minor wounds.
Brownsville is a neighborhood that’s continued to struggle with gun violence, even as New York has seen its streets get safer than they have been in decades.
“We will do everything in our power to keep this community safe and get guns off our streets,” de Blasio tweeted.
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This story has been corrected to report the mayor tweeted early Sunday, not early Saturday.
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