Two men fatally shot in 'targeted' attacks in NY nightclubs, 4 others injured in separate shootouts
QUEENS, NEW YORK CITY: Two men were found dead in a "targeted" shooting in Queens while four others were injured in separate shootouts overnight, according to police. On Friday, March 31, at about 10.30 pm on Steinway Street and Astoria Boulevard, Xavier Roberts, 22, was shot multiple times in the torso. Within a short duration, Jaheim Hamiton, 21, who also suffered gunshot wounds in the torso was found dead at 24-35 38th St.
The investigation later discovered that the second victim was also fatally shot in the vicinity where Roberts was shot to death. Both Bronx men were immediately rushed to Elmhurst Hospital by EMS and the victims were declared dead at the facility. No arrests have been made yet in the shootouts, reported to New York Post.
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'They were targeted'
Talking about the New York City mayhem, an NYPD spokesman said on Saturday, April 1, that "they were targeted. Why, we don’t yet." Police said the gunmen fled the scene in a Jeep Cherokee. A string of gunshots was heard in the neighborhood where witnesses who left prayer services saw a victim collapsing to the ground.
Witness Chris Luth said, "So I was coming out of my apartment a couple of blocks away and I heard, must have been 20 shots in rapid succession," while another person said, "I was walking, I heard the shots go off. I was very scared. My cousin just came from Morocco, he now wants to go back." Mohammed Hussein, who is currently working in Astoria, said, "This area became very, very, very bad. What used to be one of the best neighborhoods in New York City. After they opened up four, five clubs, it became one of the most dangerous areas," according to CBS News.
Separate shootouts in New York City
Police said that an hour after the fatal shooting incidents, a dispute led to a 25-year-old man being shot in the left leg in Brownsville, Brooklyn, on Hegeman Avenue and Bristol Street. He was shifted to Brookdale Hospital and was listed as stable.
During a scuffle on Washington Avenue near East 170th Street at around 1 am on Saturday, April 1, a Bronx man was stabbed in the neck and was shifted to an area hospital where he was listed as stable.