NYPD charges 32 in gang takedown after series of shootings
Thirty-two alleged members of two warring Brooklyn street gangs were charged Tuesday in connection with a series of shootings that killed two and wound 12 in the borough, including a 3-year old girl just picked up at day care, officials said.
The investigation, known as Operation Close Quarters, began in 2020 and focused on a pair notorious gang “confederacies” operating out of public housing areas in the Brownsville section. NYPD investigators said the gangs are behind 19 shootings over a period that ended this month with the unsealing of the charges.
“With this successful takedown, we aim to incapacitate two violent gangs that have terrorized parts of Brownsville for too long,” Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said in a statement released at a news conference with NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell. “Their senseless and indiscriminate gun violence upended the sense of safety for many residents and wounded a number of innocent bystanders.”
The takedown is the latest effort by city prosecutors and the NYPD to stem the tide of gang violence that investigators said has been responsible for many shootings citywide since 2020.
In a video shown to reporters of a March 25 shooting, a suspect is seen repeatedly firing at a man as he puts a child in a car. Another man can be seen nearby walking with the 3-year-old girl after they left the day care center.
The man targeted in the shooting fled, police said. The wounded 3-year-old girl was shot in the shoulder but survived. Police said the child in the car was uninjured and it turned out the man fired upon had been targeted by mistake.
Police identified the man charged in the shooting as Daleek Habersham, 23, of Brooklyn. Days after the shooting, officials said, Habersham went on a private Instagram account and posted a news account of the incident with the words “did bad.”
Habersham, prosecutors said, was allegedly part of a gang confederacy known as CHOO and included subsets of the Folk Nation and other gangs. CHOO was a territorial rival of another gang amalgamation known as the WOOO, which included gangs affiliated with various Bloods factions, police said.
According to prosecutors, much of the violence alleged in the case was specifically fueled by the fatal shooting of WOOO member Shamel Boomer on July 10, 2020. Boomer's killing was celebrated by both CHOO and another gang known as Bergen Fam — a common way by both gangs to disrespect WOOO. WOOO vowed retaliation against their rivals, including CHOO, in a violent movement referred to as “Boomin’ for Boomer” on social media.
Habersham and the other 31 defendants were charged in four indictments with various crimes, including conspiracy to commit murder, conspiracy to possess weapons, and other related charges including murder, attempted murder, reckless endangerment and weapons possession, officials said. Habersham was ordered held without bail after his arraignment, said a spokesman for Gonzalez.
Anthony M. DeStefano has been a reporter for Newsday since 1986 and covers law enforcement, criminal justice and legal affairs from its New York City offices.
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Newsday Live Music Series: Long Island Idols Newsday Live presents a special evening of music and conversation with local singers who grabbed the national spotlight on shows like "The Voice," "America's Got Talent,""The X-Factor" and "American Idol." Newsday Senior Lifestyle Host Elisa DiStefano leads a discussion and audience Q&A as the singers discuss their TV experiences, careers and perform original songs.
