NYPD: Boy, 6, among 5 shot at Brooklyn street gathering

A six-year-old boy was among five people shot and wounded early Monday at a street gathering in Brooklyn, the NYPD said.

Shortly before 3 a.m., police were called to the corner of Nostrand Avenue and Crown Street in Crown Heights after reports of the shootings.

The gathering took place near the site of the annual J’ouvert festival, a street celebration held ahead of the West Indian Day Parade but canceled this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Revelers assembled in the area for a an unofficial celebration, police said.

The boy was shot  in his left leg, according to police.

A 40-year-old man and 47-year-old woman were both shot in the left foot. Two men, 45 and 34 years old, were shot in their right legs.

All five victims were taken to NYC Health + Hospitals/Kings County and are in stable condition, police said.

Police arrested two men on weapons charges but it remained unclear whether they were involved in the shootings, the NYPD said. In a tweet, NYPD Chief of Department Terence Monahan calling the incident a “senseless shooting.” The investigation is continuing.

A vast contingent of NYPD officers was expected to hit the New York City streets over the Labor Day weekend in an attempt to rein in crime amid the ongoing pandemic and surging violence, officials said. Monahan said last week the NYPD would place hundreds of extra officers in Brooklyn to deal with house parties, street gatherings and possible violence.

With Anthony M. Destefano

By Vera Chinese

vera.chinese@newsday.com@VeraChinese

Vera Chinese joined Newsday in 2017 after working as an editor for the East End lifestyle publication northforker and a general assignment reporter for the New York Daily News.