Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Four Teens Shot In Brooklyn Playground
By
Jen Chung
Published Aug 14, 2012
Modified Aug 14, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Chung
Published Aug 14, 2012
Modified Aug 14, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Four teenagers were shot while they were in a Brooklyn playground's basketball court last night around 6:30 p.m. A witness said of the shooting, at Fish Playground on Fulton Street between Saratoga Ave. and Hopkinson Ave., "It sounded like fireworks," while another said, "I was just coming off the train, I heard ‘pow pow pow.'"
WABC 7 reports, "The series of gunshots rang out at the Brooklyn playground when police say a teen on a bicycle opened fire at a group of young people. Police say two 16-year-old boys were shot in the arm, while an 18-year-old man and a 13-year-old girl were grazed in the back." It's unclear whether the victims were the intended targets or what the motive was.
One resident fumed to WABC 7, "Our own kids can't go and play basketball in the park. Can't have fun, enjoy your kid life. Can't be a kid no more," while a mother said to WCBS 2,
"The kids was innocently playing basketball in the park and these kids getting shot like this — just don’t make no kind of sense. We need some help out here."
Community activist Tony Herbert said, "This is ground zero. Brownsville has been the epitome of where the stupidity takes place. The community’s saying it’s gang related. The police don’t have to say that, folks are snitching, they…are giving up whatever information they can and I implore them to keep doing that."
This is one of too many shootings where teens have been victims, including a 4-year-old boy who was killed by a stray bullet, a 14-year-old was killed after playing tennis (apparently by a stray bullet) and a 2-year-old and 13-year-old were injured by a drive-by shooting.
Tagged
brooklyn
crime
fish playground
gun violence
shooting
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
16 arrested in New York auto insurance fraud crackdown involving nearly $500K
State officials say the cases include staged crashes and fraudulent medical claims, with seven arrests in the Bronx alone.
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Oct 20, 2026 at 6:34 p.m. ET
Coney Island's small, 1890s lighthouse may be landmarked by the city
It's in the private community of Sea Gate. Family members of the lighthouse's last civilian keeper are keeping its history alive.
By
Catalina Gonella
News
Coney Island's small, 1890s lighthouse may be landmarked by the city
It's in the private community of Sea Gate. Family members of the lighthouse's last civilian keeper are keeping its history alive.
By
Catalina Gonella
New renderings are out for Queens' Metropolitan Park casino
By
Willow Higgins
Inside Luigi Mangione's legal strategy before his federal guilty plea
By
Samantha Max
NYC proposes crackdown down on AI customer service chatbots
By
Arya Sundaram
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .