Three people were killed inside a New York City restaurant as police search for the suspect in an area with a large concentration of Hassidic Jews, not far from the Chabad Lubavitch headquarters. Emergency services responded to the Crown Heights area in Brooklyn shortly before 3:30 a.m. after multiple reports of gunfire, police confirmed to The Sun.
Seven victims were discovered inside the Taste of the City Lounge on 903 Franklin Avenue with multiple people suffering from gunshot wounds. The victims were urgently transported to local hospitals, police told The Sun. Their conditions remain unknown. Footage from the scene shows police lights flashing as ambulances rush down the street.
Video: The site of the attack in New York / Credit: Social media
Witnesses reported on social media a police cordon has been established with "crime tape stretched for blocks." Local media reported the suspect remains at large. The New York Police Department confirmed "there are no arrests at this time, and the investigation is ongoing." The NYPD urged residents to avoid the area while investigations proceed. Officers have been reviewing CCTV footage from the area and interviewing witnesses to piece together the shooting.
Taste of the City Lounge operates as a popular American and Caribbean diner with a full bar, hookah, and DJs. The incident follows another shooting in Times Square about a week earlier which left three people injured. A teenage gunman opened fire in the popular tourist hotspot as footage showed panicked crowds fleeing while cops swarmed a vehicle. Police told The Sun that gunfire erupted at 1:20 a.m. after a "verbal dispute between two people escalated."
