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[UPDATE] Blaze Of Bullets In Crown Heights Kills 2, Wounds 2 Cops
By
John Del Signore
Published Sep 6, 2011
Modified Sep 6, 2011
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By
John Del Signore
Published Sep 6, 2011
Modified Sep 6, 2011
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[UPDATE BELOW] Over 40 bullets were fired last night in a Crown Heights shooting near the intersection of Franklin Avenue and Park Place, leaving three two people dead, injuring two NYPD officers, and putting a bloody exclamation point on a very violent Labor Day weekend. Police say career criminal Leroy Webster, 32, emerged from a Park Place building around 9 p.m. and opened fire on Eusi Johnson, 29, who was walking with his cousin. Johnson was fatally shot in the neck, and bystander Denise Gay was shot in the head as she sat on her stoop with her daughter. Gay, 56, died from her wounds.
Officers who happened to be nearby because of the West Indian Parade responded quickly, and Webster allegedly opened fire on them, hitting Officer Omar Medina in the arm and Officer Avichaim Dicken, 29, whose elbow was grazed by a bullet. Webster was fatally shot in the neck, "staggered a short way, bleeding profusely and died," CBS 2 reports. Both officers are listed in stable condition, and at a press conference at the hospital last night, Mayor Bloomberg called it "a senseless murder and a painful reminder of what happens when elected officials in Washington fail to take the problem of illegal guns seriously."
Asked about Webster's motivation, NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly told reporters, "Johnson and Webster got into a dispute. Why? We’re not certain." The hail of gunfire drew local resident Alec Schierenbeck from his home last night; he reported that "police set up numbered markers for shells - I can spot numbers into the 40s." And witness Dana Kellstrom tells the Daily News, "There must have been 50 or 60 shots fired. I saw two people shot down on the ground. It was incredible. I ran for my life."
The shooting followed an earlier burst of gunfire at the West Indian Day parade, and put the cap on a bloody holiday weekend. According to the Wall Street Journal's count, there were 10 killed and more than 50 injured in violence this weekend.
UPDATE 4:23 p.m.: Police initially said Webster had died, but Kelly confirmed today that he is alive and in serious condition at Kings County Hospital.
Tagged
brooklyn
cops shot
Crown Heights
gun violence
labor day weekend
nypd
shooting
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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