Valley Stream shooting leaves Brooklyn man dead, 12-year-old boy among wounded
VALLEY STREAM, N.Y. -- One person was killed and four others were injured when shots rang out during a party Monday night on Long Island.
The shooting happened around 8:30 p.m. at an rental hall on Ocean Avenue in Valley Stream.
Startled families walked past bullet holes where police said a gunman opened fire, shooting multiple times into a Valley Stream event space where 50-60 young partygoers had gathered Monday evening.
"A male assailant came up westbound 131st Avenue in Queens, right on the border. He fired eight times, striking multiple people," Nassau County Police Det. Stephen Fitzpatrick said.
A 20-year-old Brooklyn man did not survive. A 12-year-old boy shot in the shoulder is recovering, along with two others suffering graze wounds. A fifth suffered a laceration to her hand.
Watch: Update on investigation
The venue, known as Dopie's World, rents party space on Ocean Avenue. Owner Deborah Young said it was meant to be an end of summer celebration.
"It's a tragedy what happened. We never had anything like this happen before, as far as I know," Young said. "I do have a contract that states when you rent out my event space, no alcohol."
Police said 50 to 60 people -- many of them underage -- were at the party, which advertised a DJ and alcohol.
"This advertisement that went out on social media was sent throughout the community and invited a crowd of people there where they were serving alcohol and, possibly, also liquid marijuana," Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said.
"Look, it's simple. Your kids are all on these sites. They get invites to these parties," he went on to say. "These are not organized parties, these are not your typical establishments that are licensed to sell alcohol, check ID and those who come in to their restaurant or their establishment. So these types of parties we try to make sure that we shut down before."
Within the space are remnants of a foam party - dancing amid soapy foam.
Young said the day party started at 3 p.m. and was set to be over by 10 p.m.
One witness said the evening started off calm, but suddenly an argument broke out and people started running.
"It was a quiet, peaceful night, maybe a little bit of music. Not too much loud music. No violent music. No type of energy like that. We were only here to have a good time, at the end of the day. Next thing you know, the good time turned into a bad night and they start getting a little violent," witness Keith Joseph said. "Next thing you know, I just see some running. It's usually a friendly neighborhood."
Neighbors said they have had it with teen gatherings here.
"They throw parties in there all the time, they have people there with cars in the middle of the street," Sanny James said. "The neighborhood around here is very quiet, and that business has, most of the time, people fighting. People are very upset around here."
"I didn't know we had this many teenagers in the neighborhood," homeowner Della Gibbs said. "It's always been a nice neighborhood. I've been here 50 years, and we've never had any problems. So I didn't know what was going on."
The teens came in from all over, police said. They vow to shut down illegal parties.
"They go viral and they go viral quickly. You can't control who comes and how many come," Ryder said.
The shooter was armed with a semiautomatic weapon and is still at large, and police are asking for tips from the community.
A new Northwell Health survey reports gun violence as the leading cause of death among people under age 19.
Police said the gunman took off heading west into Queens. They are asking anyone with information about the shooting to call Nassau County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS.
for more features.
