AT LEAST three people have been killed and eight injured in a shooting at a New York City restaurant.
Emergency services swarmed the Crown Heights area in Brooklyn shortly before 3:30am as police search for multiple gunmen.
Several reports of gunfire were made around closing time at the Taste of the City Lounge on 903 Franklin Ave.
Police found three deceased male victims inside with two being identified as 27 and 35, according to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
The age of the third is yet to be confirmed.
Another eight people were urgently transported to local hospitals with their conditions remaining unknown.
They are all believed to be between the ages of 27 and 61 and are made up of five men and three women.
Footage from the scene shows police lights flashing as ambulances rush down the street.
Witnesses said on social media a police cordon has been put in place with “crime tape stretched for blocks”.
A 39-year-old man who wanted to remain anonymous said he saw one of the victims get shot.
He told the New York Post: “He’s a regular, he wasn’t doing nothing.
“Nothing to do with it. He’s just outside the bathroom, hitting a hookah, dead.”
Cops also recovered 36 shell casings from the scene with officials investigating the possibility of multiple shooters.
Detectives later recovered a firearm near to Bedford Avenue and Eastern Parkway.
They are still investigating whether the weapon has any connection to the shooting.
No arrests have been made yet as police continue to hunt down multiple suspects, Tisch said.
She added: “It’s a terrible thing that happened this morning and we’re going to investigate to determine what went down.”
The NYPD have urged residents to avoid the area while investigations are ongoing.
Officers have been reviewing CCTV footage from the area and are interviewing witnesses to try and piece together the shooting.
Investigators are urging anyone with any information to come forward.
Taste of the City Lounge is a popular American and Caribbean diner with a full bar, hookah, and DJs.
It follows another horror shooting in Times Square last week which left three people injured.
A teenage gunman opened fire in the popular tourist hotspot as footage showed panicked crowds fleeing as cops swarmed a vehicle.
Source : https://www.the-sun.com/news/14988840/brooklyn-shooting-injured/