Four People Shot in New York City


TEHRAN (Tasnim) - At least four people have been shot, including one fatally, inside a Brooklyn hookah lounge, New York City police announced.

A 27-year-old man died after a gunman appeared behind him and started firing, striking him in the head, torso and arm on Friday morning.

The victim was taken to a hospital and but succumbed to his injuries there. The name of the deceased was not immediately released.

The incident happed inside Ali's Roti Shop on Flatbush Avenue near Rutland Road in Flatbush, Brooklyn, New York City.

Police responded after receiving a 911 call of shooting at the lounge at about 3:00 a.m.

A 25-year-old man was shot in the right leg and a 25-year-old woman suffered gunshot wounds to her torso. While a bullet grazed past a 28-year-old man’s head, injuring him.

A 25-year-old woman suffered a cut leg from flying glass when the shop’s window was shattered during the shooting.

All the injured were in stable condition at Kings County Hospital, officials said, Press TV reported.

It was not immediately known what the motive behind the shooting was. The suspect remained at large on Friday morning.

Since the onset of 2015, there has been one shooting per day in the United States, according to a website called Mass Shooting Tracker.

As of August 26, the year’s 238th day, there have been 247 instances of mass shootings reported in the US.

US President Barack Obama said on Wednesday the number of gun deaths in the United States dwarfs those related to terrorism.

He made the remarks after a gunman shot dead two fellow journalists during a live TV program in the state of Virginia.

“It breaks my heart every time you read or hear about these kinds of incidents,” Obama said told Philadelphia TV station WPVI.

“What we know is that the number of people who die from gun-related incidents around this country dwarfs any deaths that happen through terrorism,” he added.

Every year, more than 30,000 people are shot and killed in the United States.

About 4.5 million firearms are sold annually in the United States at a cost of 2 to 3 billion dollars.