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Brooklyn DA indicts 9 young people in shootings, suggests revisiting 'Raise the Age' law
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Published Jul 3, 2025
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By
Brittany Kriegstein
Published Jul 3, 2025
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Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said Thursday he’d support re-examining a state law that made it harder for prosecutors to charge 16 and 17-year-olds as adults — as he announced the indictments of nine young people in shootings that plagued the borough for two years.
Gonzalez said the Raise the Age Law, which went into effect in 2017, was enacted “with the best of intentions.” But he said that shouldn’t protect young people from accountability, especially in gun violence cases.
His statements join a number of calls from other top city law enforcement officials, including Bronx DA Darcel Clark, Mayor Eric Adams and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch, for the Legislature to reconsider aspects of the law.
“ What we're seeing is really obscene violence in the middle of the day where other people walking the streets,” Gonzalez said. “Many, many people are being jeopardized by the actions of such a small number of young people.”
Advocates for Raise the Age, meanwhile, have cited a 2023 study from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, which found the share of young people involved in violent crime has declined since the law was enacted.
The defendants indicted on 68 counts Thursday were all between 15 to 20 years of age when prosecutors allege they participated in 10 shootings — one of which was fatal — on the streets of East New York and Brownsville between 2023 and 2025, Gonzalez said.
All nine are accused of being members of the “Road to Riches” gang, which authorities say had a home base in a building on Sheffield Avenue near Blake Avenue in East New York. Seven are currently in custody already, while two remain at large, according to the DA.
Tisch said those arrested join more than 300 other people already charged with similar offenses across the city — in more than 40 gang-related takedowns the NYPD has effected so far this year.
Nine of those takedowns have been in Brooklyn, Tisch said. That includes one in February, where prosecutors say 14 gang members were arrested for 19 shootings around Sheepshead Bay and Coney Island.
“This is the kind of proactive, targeted policing that continues to drive crime down to record lows, and it is working,” Tisch said.
The officials said the law enforcement actions have contributed to a particularly safe year so far in Brooklyn: According to NYPD data, shootings are down 20% from the same time period in 2024, which Gonzalez had celebrated as the safest year on record.
But he also mentioned other initiatives that are being implemented in the borough to steer young people away from crime, including a new program based on the success of Project Restore that will soon be launching in East New York and Brownsville, with sponsorship from Adams’ office and the City Council.
“We are willing to offer services, we are willing to meet you halfway, if you lay down your guns,” he said. “ We want to make sure that just because we remove these young people, that new young people don't enter the role of shooters, of gangs.”
Attorneys for eight of the nine people indicted Thursday did not immediately return messages, or declined to comment on their cases. One of the defendants did not yet have an attorney assigned.
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Brittany Kriegstein
Brittany Kriegstein covers all breaking news around New York City, with a focus on crime and gun violence. Got a tip? Email Brittany at [email protected].
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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