ROSEDALE, Queens (PIX11) — Two teenage boys were wounded in a Queens basketball court dispute on Sunday afternoon, police said.
Police found a 17-year-old victim with a gunshot wound to the leg in Brookville Park around 1:45 p.m., officials said. They also found a 16-year-old boy with a stab wound to his leg at the basketball court.
Both of the victims were taken to a hospital for treatment. Police described their conditions as stable.
Eyewitness Aaron Goat was working out at the park during the dispute. He thinks the assault might be gang related.
“I just heard a whole bunch of arguing going on and then two shots, boom boom, caught me by surprise because things like that don’t usually happen around here,” he said.
Goat wasn’t the only one who said the incident was unusual for the neighborhood. Councilmember Selvena Brooks-Powers, who represents the area, agreed.
“This park is a gem in the community,” Brooks-Powers said. “This not something you expect to hear in this community. We won’t stand for this type of violence.”
Neighborhood resident Tamica White moved from East New York to this pocket of Queens because she felt it was safer. After the Sunday afternoon shooting and stabbing on the basketball court, she isn’t so sure any place is safe.
“I believe there’s a huge social disconnect between us all after the pandemic because of everything we’ve been through. We’re all acting out on it,” White said. “It’s in the school. It’s on the street, it’s in the park at one o’clock in the afternoon and it’s just awful.”
No information has been released on a suspect. Police have not yet released any additional details.
Submit tips to police by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), visiting crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, downloading the NYPD Crime Stoppers mobile app, or texting 274637 (CRIMES) then entering TIP577. Spanish-speaking callers are asked to dial 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
