NEW YORK (AP) — New York City police arrested a 20-year-old man late Wednesday in connection with a mass shooting over the summer at a Brooklyn community festival that left one person dead and 11 wounded.
Police said the gunman, Kyle Williams, was one of two people who opened fire — possibly shooting at each other — during the Old Timers Day gathering in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn on July 27.
The gunfire sent a crowd of thousands of people, who had gathered in the area around a playground and community center for music and food, scattering. Flying bullets cut down partygoers as they fled the event, held annually as a reunion for people who grew up in Brownsville.
One person, Jason Pagan, 38, was fatally struck by gunfire. Police said earlier in the investigation that Pagan had recently been let out of prison and the shooting might have been related to a gang dispute.
Williams was charged with murder, criminal possession of a weapon, reckless endangerment and attempted murder charges. It wasn’t clear if he had a lawyer who could comment.
Police didn’t immediately say how they were able to identify Williams as one of the gunmen.
The investigation had, for a time, seemed stalled. Police offered thousands of dollars in rewards for information. In recent weeks, the department publicized the pictures of two women and asked the public to help identify them as part of the investigation.
Police Commissioner James O’Neill said 2,000 to 3,000 people had attended the Old Timers Day event and that more than 100 police officers had been stationed there on the night of the shooting in an attempt to prevent violence.
Brownsville, one of the poorest sections of Brooklyn, has seen crime plunge in recent years much like the rest of the city. But it still ranks as having more gun violence than most other places and gangs remain a problem.
