A pregnant woman was shot five times and her unborn baby was killed after a drive-by shooting in Brooklyn Monday night that injured four other people, police sources tell NBC 4 New York.
The four-months pregnant woman, 19, was standing in front of a housing project on Dwight Street with two other women and two men when someone in a passing SUV opened fire at them, the sources say.
The pregnant woman was critically injured in the shooting, according to the police sources. One of her companions, a 20-year-old man, was hit seven times in the body, authorities said.
The woman is expected to survive.
Another 19-year-old woman was also shot five times, while the remaining two victims were shot in the legs. All five victims were taken to nearby hospitals.
The SUV drove off after the shooting. Police have identified the suspect as 19-year-old Fredrick Marquise, described as 5 feet 5 inches tall and weight about 140 pounds. They're asking anyone with information to contact them at 800-577-TIPS.
Police sources say the violence is thought to stem from a rivalry between residents of two housing projects in the neighborhood. Police are looking for two suspects.
"It's shocking," said neighbor Tamira Hoynes. "This is the first incident I've heard of in, like, ages."
The drive-by comes after another shooting on Sunday.
Local
Three died and 16 were wounded in seven separate shootings across the city over the weekend, including one shooting in which nine people were shot during a backyard party in East New York.
On Monday, community activists took a coffin to Brooklyn Borough Hall in protest of the seeming rise in gun violence.
"I think that's crazy, it's happening all around the city, shootings everywhere," said Denise Morales, of East New York.
Brooklyn Borough Hall President Eric Adams joined the protesters, speaking about the need to reduce gun violence.
"Our children deserve to live," he said. "Our adults deserve to live. All lives matter."
Mayor de Blasio's office, however, says crime is actually down and that the number of shooting incidents has dropped slightly from 674 last year to 669 this year.
NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton urged New Yorkers to put the Monday night shooting in context, saying Tuesday: "What we've been experiencing is far less than every other city."
He added that crime is down 6 percent for the year. Murders are up 9 percent, he said, but a recent batch of shootings are almost all clustered in Brooklyn and the Bronx. The gunman wanted in the Monday shooting, like those in the East New York house party shootings, are repeat offenders.
"They are the shooters committing these murders," Bratton said.
--Andrew Siff contributed to this report.
