15 charged in Brooklyn gang takedown, prosecutors say

BROOKLYN (WABC) -- Prosecutors announced charges against 15 suspects in a major gang takedown in Brooklyn.

Prosecutors say many of the suspects, who are teenagers, are accused of terrorizing Coney Island and surrounding neighborhoods with a wave of gun violence.

Authorities say the group is linked to 16 shootings over 13 months.

Wild shootouts were captured on surveillance video between two warring gangs in Coney Island, where 182 shots were fired from 33 guns in 16 separate shootings starting in January 2024.

"What's troubling is how trigger-happy these young men seemed to be," Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said.

The illegal firearms were on display on Monday afternoon, where Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez and NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch announced the 113-count indictment against 15 teenagers for murder, attempted murder, and conspiracy, among other charges.

"Behind much of this violence was an escalating cycle of gang retaliation, amplified through social media and drill music against Folk Nation and the 7080 gang members," Tisch said.

In a video from April of last year, four men in masks were seen walking through Flatbush Gardens Houses looking for rivals to get payback, investigators said.

They spot two men, and that's when gunfire erupts.

A 17-year-old was killed.

One of the suspected gang members looking for payback was accidentally shot in the back of the head by one of his own, officials said.

"His friends see him fall to the ground and continue to run, leaving him to die," Gonzalez said.

Prosecutors say the feuds spilled outside of Coney Island and spanned across ten different precincts across Brooklyn.

"All of these shootings are basically related to them disrespecting each other on social media. It's not monetary. It's not over drug turf, it's not over girls. It's just strictly over them, disrespecting each other by drill, rapping," NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said.

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