Three people were killed and eight others wounded early Sunday morning when gunfire erupted inside a Brooklyn hookah lounge and restaurant, multiple sources have reported, transforming what should have been a routine closing hour into a scene of chaos and tragedy.
According to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, officers received multiple emergency calls reporting shots fired inside the Taste of the City Lounge, located at 903 Franklin Avenue in Crown Heights, just before 3:30AM. Responding units found a devastating scene: three men (aged 27, 35, and one whose age has not yet been released) were pronounced dead at the location.
The victims, all patrons of the lounge, were caught in the crossfire of what police believe involved multiple gunmen. At least 36 shell casings were later recovered, pointing to a barrage of bullets fired in the tightly packed space.
Sources indicated that a dispute inside the crowded venue may have sparked the violence, though details remain under investigation, the New York Times reports.
The eight additional victims, five men and three women ranging in age up to 61, were rushed to nearby hospitals. Thankfully, police confirmed their injuries were non-life-threatening. Still, the sheer number of people harmed underscores the magnitude of the incident.
No arrests have yet been made, but law enforcement officials say they are searching for multiple suspects. Detectives also recovered a firearm in the area of Bedford Avenue and Eastern Parkway, though it is not yet confirmed whether that weapon was used in the shooting.
One witness, a 39-year-old man who declined to give his name, recalled the horrifying moment he saw a regular patron gunned down. “He’s a regular, he wasn’t doing nothing. Nothing to do with it … He’s just outside the bathroom, hitting a hookah, dead,” he told The New York Post, still shaken by the violence.
The aftermath left investigators combing through a narrow, crowded lounge that workers described as just 12 feet wide but stretching far back, lined with tables, a bar, and little space to escape once the shooting began.
Officers in hazmat suits were later seen inside, gathering evidence near pools of blood and broken glass. Police also canvassed nearby businesses, including a Foodtown grocery store next door, seeking surveillance footage that might provide additional leads.
Commissioner Tisch acknowledged the tragedy but emphasized that shootings overall remain at historic lows in New York City.
“We have the lowest number of shooting incidents and shooting victims seven months into the year we’ve seen on record in the city of New York,” she said. “Something like this is, of course, thank God, an anomaly, and it’s a terrible thing that’s happened this morning.”
Taste of the City Lounge, which opened in 2022 and advertises itself as offering American and Caribbean cuisine, hookah, DJs, and a full bar, was already known to authorities. The establishment was the scene of another shooting in November 2024, though that incident did not result in fatalities, according to The Guardian.
Police continue to appeal to the public for information. Anyone who witnessed the shooting or has relevant footage is urged to contact detectives as they work to piece together how a night out ended with such devastating loss of life.