NYC bar shooting leaves 3 dead, including 2 gunmen; 2 others still at large

Two of the three people killed in a bar shooting in the New York City borough of Brooklyn were among the four shooters who opened fire inside the building, the city's police commissioner said Monday.

Jamel Childs, 35, and Marvin St. Louis, 19, both of Brooklyn, were seen on surveillance video arguing in the Taste of the City Lounge in Crown Heights shortly before 3:30 a.m. Sunday, Commissioner Jessica Tisch said. About 10 minutes later, St. Louis approached Childs and opened fire, and Childs and two other men fired back.

Both Childs and St. Louis were shot multiple times and were pronounced dead at a hospital a short time after the shooting. The third man killed, 27-year-old city resident Amadou Diallo, was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities said Diallo appears to have been an innocent bystander.

Two other men who also opened fire in the bar remained at large Monday, Tisch said, but she did not disclose further details about them. A possible motive for the shooting remains under investigation, but authorities have said it appears to be gang-related. Tisch said Monday that Childs had a lengthy police record and is listed in a police database as a member of Folk Nation, which she described as a violent gang" that terrorizes Brooklyn and is responsible for six shootings this year. She said three people who survived the shooting also have ties to that gang, but St. Louis had no relevant criminal history."  Fourteen people were shot overall in the incident, but none of the survivors' injuries are believed to be life-threatening, Mayor Eric Adams said Monday. Investigators found at least 42 shell casings from 9 mm and .45-caliber weapons and a firearm in a nearby street following the shooting.

Adams and state Attorney General Letitia James joined dozens of people at a vigil for the victims outside the bar Monday evening. A moment of silence was held and religious leaders led the group in prayers.

What happened in the Taste of the City is not a reflection of our city, Adams said, noting drops in shootings and other crimes in the city this year.

James added, "and I pray that all of us will come together. Put down the guns. Recognize that violence is never the answer. Recognize that there are too many mothers and grandmothers and fathers and grandfathers right now who are crying, and we've got the power in our hands to stop the violence.

It was the second mass shooting within weeks in New York City during a year that has otherwise seen declining gun violence. On July 29, a man stalked through a Manhattan office tower with a rifle, wounding one person and killing four others.

Didarul Islam, a New York City police officer, was among those who died in that shooting. His wife gave birth late Sunday night to a boy, their third child together.