The NYPD on Wednesday released surveillance imageas of two young men wanted for opening fire outside a Sweet 16 birthday party in Brooklyn that left six people wounded, including the niece of Mayor Adam’s gun violence prevention czar.
The two masked suspects, one wearing a blue-and-red du-rag under his hoodie, opened fire on a crowd of partygoers that had just filed out of Burbuja Events on Atlantic Ave. near Ashford St. in Cypress Hills as the birthday celebration wrapped up about 1:15 a.m. Sunday, cops said.
Surveillance video recovered by police show the two suspects walking toward the party space in the pouring rain. One of them keeps putting his hand in his waistband, adjusting his firearm, the video shows.
A.T. Mitchell-Mann‘s 15-year-old niece was waiting for an Uber outside the party space when the two suspects opened fire. The bullet went straight through her chest, said Mitchell-Mann, who was appointed to the city’s top anti-gun violence position by Mayor Adams in 2022.
“The doctors have called her a miracle,” he told the Daily News Tuesday. “[The bullet] went through and out without hitting any bone, any arteries or major organs, so thank God.”
A second 15-year-old girl was shot in the leg. A 15-year-old boy was shot in the left arm, a 16-year-old boy was shot in the right arm, another 16-year-old boy was blasted in the left foot and a 17-year-old boy was struck in the right leg, cops said.
All of the victims were taken to area hospitals and treated for minor wounds, police said.
Mitchell-Mann said that party organizers were popping balloons when the shots were fired. His niece, he said, “thought it was the balloons being popped from inside.”
A motive for the shooting was not immediately disclosed, but NYPD Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch on Sunday said the shooting “appears to be gang related.”
In addition to the bullet that passed through her chest, Mitchell-Mann said his niece was struck in the left knee and in her waist.
One of the suspects was wearing a black hoodie, black pants, black sneakers and a black ski mask. The second was wearing a black hoodie, black pants, black sneakers, a blue face mask and the distinctive du-rag.
Cops are asking the public’s help identifying them and tracking them down.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.
