Police identify victims after 4 men fatally shot at illegal gambling club in Brooklyn
CROWN HEIGHTS, Brooklyn -- Police are trying to determine what led to the shooting at an illegal gambling site in Brooklyn that left four men dead and three other people wounded.
It happened shortly before 7 a.m. Saturday at a social club on Utica Avenue in Crown Heights.
At least 15 shots were fired and dozens of people ran out of the club to escape the gunfire.
Four men were pronounced dead at the scene.
The victims have been identified as 36-year-old Terence Bishop, 47-year-old Dominick Wimbush, 37-year-old Chester Goode, and 32-year-old John Thomas, all of Brooklyn.
Police say three other people, two men and one woman, were also shot and taken to area hospitals. Their injuries are not considered life-threatening.
The shooting appears to have happened at an illegal gambling location on the first floor of the building, said NYPD Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea.
The unlicensed club had a sign identifying it as the "Triple A Aces Private & Social Event Space." Shea said there was "evidence of gambling" including cards and dice inside.
The incident apparently stemmed from a dispute at the club. There are no indications it was gang-related, according to police.
"Our Homicide detectives are on the scene now," said Shea. "We have some individuals back at the 77th Precinct, and we're trying to piece together exactly what transpired inside that location."
Two guns were recovered at the scene. No arrests have been made.
Police said there have been no complaints about the site in the last few years.
Mayor Bill de Blasio posted on Twitter: "I've said it before and I'll say it until I can't anymore: we have an epidemic of gun violence that spares no community - and it won't stop until we get guns off our streets once and for all."
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