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Brooklyn man pleads guilty in deadly Crown Heights hookah lounge shooting
By
Samantha Max
Published Jun 2, 2026
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Photo by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images
By
Samantha Max
Published Jun 2, 2026
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A Brooklyn man admitted in federal court Tuesday to firing a gun during a mass shooting at a Crown Heights hookah lounge last summer.
Timothy Spence, 21, pleaded guilty to assault in aid of racketeering and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. He faces the possibility of more than two decades behind bars when he is sentenced later this year.
Three people died and 10 were injured in the shooting at the Taste of the City Lounge on Aug. 17, 2025. More than 40 shots were fired within about six seconds, according to prosecutors. Spence admitted to firing at one of the people who died, Jamel Childs.
In a prepared statement to Judge Orelia Merchant, Spence said in court that he belonged to a gang and that the shooting was sparked by a beef with a rival group. He said he fired at members of the rival group to protect the territory of his gang and advance his position.
“I knew that what I was doing was wrong,” he said. “I am sorry for what I did.”
Throughout the plea hearing, a woman in the audience cried quietly and breathed heavily, at times rocking back and forth in her seat. On the other side of the courtroom, three women sat in the back row. Spence waved to them before he was escorted out of the courtroom.
Charges of assault in aid of racketeering and being a felon in possession of ammunition are pending against another person accused in the shooting, Elijah Roy, who has pleaded not guilty. A third person accused in the shooting is still at large, according to law enforcement.
The NYPD and the State Liquor Authority both urged the owner of the Taste of the City Lounge to improve its security measures and address violations following a series of violent incidents at the club in the months leading up to the shooting, Gothamist previously reported.
Yelp and Google both report that the lounge is now closed and no one picked up the phone at a number associated with the business.
James Jones, who lived across the street from the hookah lounge at the time of the shooting, said afterward that the scene looked like a “bloodbath,” with “bullet shells all over the place” and victims on the ground. Other residents said the shooting had made them feel on edge in a neighborhood where they typically felt safe.
There have been three reported shootings so far this year in the Brooklyn precinct that includes the hookah lounge, up slightly from two this time last year, according to NYPD data.
Tagged
Crown Heights
public safety
Samantha Max
Samantha reports on whether New Yorkers feel safe and whether the institutions that are supposed to protect them are working. Before coming to WNYC/Gothamist, she spent three years covering the criminal justice system in Tennessee for Nashville Public Radio. Her reporting on Nashville's police department received multiple awards, including the Daniel Schorr Journalism Prize. Samantha was also part of the inaugural class of Report for America, a service journalism program that sends up-and-coming reporters to local newsrooms across the country. She is a Northwestern University grad, a Baltimore native and fluent in Spanish. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal: samanthamaxwnyc.93.
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