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Five teens shot near playground in East Flatbush over stolen designer bag

All victims are expected to survive

Justin Carissimo
New York
Tuesday 14 June 2016 03:15 BST
Harry Maze Playground
Harry Maze Playground (NYCGovParks.org)

A gunman shot and wounded five teens near a Brooklyn playground on Monday.

New York Police Department officials said the shooting took place at Avenue D in front of the Harry Maze Playground in East Flatbush at 5pm. The teens, who were aged 15 to 18-years-old, were playing basketball when a designer bookbag went missing.

A 16-year-old was shot in the cheek, another 16-year-old was shot in the leg, a 15-year-old suffered a shot to the finger, a 17-year-old suffered a graze wound to the neck, and an 18-year-old was shot in the abdomen, NYPD Detective Hubert Reyes told The Independent.

All five victims were immediately transported to Kings County Hospital and are expected to live.

When no one confessed to stealing the MCM bag, which typically cost more than $500 each, one man left the scene and returned with several friends, one of whom opened fire on the teenagers, PIX11 reports.

Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams condemed the shooting on Monday night. "Please, let's stop treating this gun violence as normal," Adams said on Twitter.


No suspect has been named and a weapon has not been recovered by press time. Police said the investigation is ongoing.

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