Two Shootings In Coney Island On Easter Sunday
Two shootings marred Easter celebrations in Coney Island on Sunday, according to authorities.
The day started when a 33-year-old man was shot twice in the leg just before 8pm outside the Carey Gardens housing project on West 23rd Street, near Mermaid Avenue, according to police. The victim was taken to NYU Lutheran Medical Center and was not likely to die, police say. Cops are still searching for the suspect.
City Councilman Mark Treyger, who represents Coney Island, says the shooting arose out of a dispute between a woman and her ex-boyfriend. In a Facebook post, Treyger said the ex-boyfriend had taken the woman’s car without permission. She called her current boyfriend, who decided to shoot the ex’s friend to send a message when he couldn’t find his target.
In the Facebook post, Treyger expressed frustration at the seemingly senseless violence.
“I fully understand and accept the fact that government at all levels has to do more to provide meaningful opportunities for people, but if people don’t step up and take ownership and responsibility for their own lives, then these kinds of tragic stories will continue,” he wrote.
A second shooting in Coney Island capped off Easter Sunday when two men began firing at each other around 9:30pm near the corner of West 25th Street and Mermaid Avenue — right outside a public housing project at that intersection, according to the NYPD.
There were no injuries reported from the shootout and police are searching for the suspects, described as two black men.
According to the latest crime statistics from Coney Island’s station house, there were three other reported shootings in the precinct between the start of the year and March 20. There has also been one murder in Coney Island.
The city recently approved funds to bring ShotSpotter, the NYPD’s gunshot detection program, to Coney Island by the end of the year. The technology allows law enforcement to more immediately respond to gunfire and pinpoint the exact location of a shooting.