Two students shot after dismissal from Brooklyn high school
Two students were shot at a deli near their Sunset Park, Brooklyn, school at dismissal time on Tuesday, police and school safety sources said.
The violence broke out across the street from P.S. 371 Lillian L. Rashkis High School, at 36th St. near Fourth Ave., around 2:30 p.m. as classes ended for the day.
The 18-year-old victims were hanging out inside 952 Deli and Express, where they regularly come for snacks, according to the shop’s manager.
“The gunman just came in and started shooting. He didn’t say anything,” manager Damag Sufyan, 32, told the Daily News.
“One of the kids dove over the counter. The other was just walking around bleeding. They were screaming, ‘I got shot! I got shot! Call 911!” he added.
The victims were each shot in the shoulder, according to police.
“It was like fireworks,” Sufyan remarked.
Both youths were taken to Lutheran Hospital and are in stable condition, sources said.
They added that cops took two suspects who had jumped onto a bus into custody, recovering a gun from under a seat. Deli surveillance footage viewed by The News appeared to show just one shooter.
The incident was the latest in a troubling surge of youth violence that led Schools Chancellor David Banks to call the situation “a state of emergency” in January.
He has maintained that schools themselves are safe, attributing the spike in crime to conflicts after school.
Last month, the city assigned additional cops to cover schools, along with nearby bus stops and train stations, at dismissal time. Precinct commanders were told to meet weekly with principals to discuss “issues of note,” and the policy was reiterated on a subsequent call with school leaders.
Last year, 157 victims under the age of 18 were either killed or wounded by gunfire, a 15% increase compared to 2021, when students had not all returned to school buildings after pandemic-era closures, NYPD data show.
In response, Mayor Adams and the Department of Education rolled out a $9 million initiative in October, providing selected schools with a variety of local youth support services, along with violence interruption and prevention activities.
Lillian Rashkis High School does not receive funding or services through that program, according to budget documents.
Education officials declined to comment on Tuesday, referring the Daily News to police.
A motive in Tuesday’s shooting was not immediately known.
“There was a fight yesterday and he came back to settle it,” the deli manager said of the shooter, citing conversations from his customers who were shot.
“It’s crazy. God be with us,” he added.
