Major NYC gang takedown includes bust of man 'who shot 3-year-old'

Thirty-two members of a pair of warring gangs that have been wreaking havoc across Brooklyn were busted Tuesday in 19 shootings, including two fatal incidents and one that injured a 3-year-old girl, officials said.

The suspects, indicted on 106 criminal counts, are members of the Brownsville-based gangs WOOO and CHOO, authorities said — as they released chilling photos of the tot’s blood-soaked clothes from the horror.

One photo showed the child’s little gray short-sleeved shirt — with lettering that said, “I’m cute, Mommy’s cute, Daddy’s lucky” — marred by blood in the upper right shoulder. Another snapshot was of her matching gray sweatshirt with a rainbow and the words “always believe in you” with blood in the same place.

The gangs’ victims also included a 22-year-old cabbie struck by gunfire while blasting a rival group’s music, according to prosecutors and law-enforcement sources.

On March 25, CHOO member Daleek Habersham opened fire on a man he thought was a WOOO rival as the guy was putting a young child into his car — and in the process, shot the other toddler in the shoulder as she walked by holding her father’s hand leaving daycare, prosecutors alleged.

Miraculously, the child survived.

The next day, Habersham sent a screenshot of a news story to a private Instagram group with the message “did bad,” authorities said.

Between the spring of 2020 and this month, the gangs were responsible for 27 criminal incidents, including the 19 shootings, which left a total of 14 people injured, including two fatally, prosecutors said.

The illicit groups were collectively busted with 27 firearms, authorities added.

1 of 5

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement

The shootings injured several innocent bystanders, including the 3-year-old, a 62-year-old man and another senior citizen, prosecutors said. The gangs’ violence was otherwise largely centered on each other and predominately sparked by the murder of WOOO member Shamel Boomer on July 10, 2020.

Even though Boomer’s death was at the hands of another gang, Bergen Fam, WOOO also targeted CHOO for retaliation because it was openly celebrating so much, officials said.

WOOO vowed to retaliate in a bloodsoaked movement referred to as “Boomin’ for Boomer” on social media, prosecutors said.

“It’s been a month & we ain’t stop Boomin since,” one of the gang members wrote on social media soon after the death, adding an emoji symbolizing gunfire.

In turn, CHOO fired back against WOOO members or those suspected to be associated with the gang.

“Rule number one if You see A woo start clicking,” an alleged CHOO member wrote on social media.

Another added alongside more gunfire emojis, “If you WOO back I shoot that.”

Two CHOO members, Corey Henry, 20, and Shakur Bartley, 25, have been hit with murder raps for killing two rival WOOO gangsters – Jahrell Gause in July 2020 and Tyrie McLaughlin in July 2022, prosecutors said.

On April 14, 2021, WOOO member Davvion Thompson, 23, also ran over CHOO member Parnell Brown, 21, as he tried to cross the street, prompting the rival to run after the car and squeeze off numerous shots as it sped away.

Video shows Brown tumble over the hood of Thompson’s car, scramble back to his feet and indiscriminately fire his gun while standing in the crowded roadway.

Despite the violence, Thompson was unfazed, prosecutors alleged.

He immediately drove to Saks 5th Avenue in Manhattan and was caught on surveillance video shopping for luxury goods with a group of others.

In the video, Thompson is allegedly shown walking through the men’s department, looking at pairs of pants and shirts with a cadre of buddies.

Meanwhile, Oct. 6, 2020, WOOO member Lawrence Cook, 22, summoned two fellow gang members, Elijah Griffith, 23, and Avante Stephen, 22, after spotting a rival CHOO gangster at a doctor’s office.

Griffith and Stephen allegedly immediately went to the area and then waited until the rival came outside with his mom and young siblings. Once the family was in the car, Griffith fired multiple rounds at the vehicle, living up to the gang’s “policy” of “shoot on sight,” prosecutors said.

Chilling video of the broad-daylight shooting shows the two opening fire on the family from across the street before running away from the scene.

“These are the trigger-pullers. These are that small group of individuals as reckless as we’ve ever seen,” said Deputy Chief Jason Savino, the commanding officer of the NYPD’s Gun Violence Suppression Division, during a press briefing on the gangs’ takedown.

“You witnessed the videos. It paints a picture. These gangs would shoot at their opposition in the vicinity of high schools, day-care centers, MTA buses and densely and highly populated areas with no regard for anybody in the area.”

The gangs, which are both made up of numerous subsets, have a long-running rivalry and operate out of several public-housing complexes in Brownsville that neighbor each other.

On one side, WOOO is based in the Seth Low Houses, Van Dyke Houses, Langston Hughes Houses, Glenmore Plaza and Brownsville Houses, while CHOO controls the Tilden Houses, Howard Houses, Marcus Garvey Village, Newport Gardens and Riverdale Towers, officials said.

Their dividing line is Dumont Avenue.

“The long-running rivalry between these criminal organizations, predicated on maintaining their territory and gaining supremacy over their rivals, coupled with close geographic proximity, has led to consistent and frequent violence,” prosecutors said in a news release about the takedown.

Keep up with today's most important news

Stay up on the very latest with Evening Update.

Thanks for signing up!

“It is alleged that many of the acts of violence were captured on surveillance videos. Furthermore, it is alleged that the defendants boasted about their criminal activities on social media and in music videos, discussing acts of violence and taking credit for shootings.”

Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez celebrated the arrests, saying the two gangs have “terrorized parts of Brownsville for too long.

“Removing these individuals from our community will have the desired impact of reducing … trigger pullers from our neighborhoods, making Brownsville a safer place to live with many, many hard working residents and families who call Brownsville home,” Gonzalez said.

“The shootings and the disregard for human life by these gang members didn’t just cost the lives of fellow rival gang members, but also terrorized law abiding citizens and residents of our community.”

NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell thanked and commended the investigators involved.

“Focusing on those responsible for the majority of crime and violence in the city is our commitment to rid our streets of illegal guns, those brazen enough to use them and anyone who victimizes or preys on the people,” said Sewell.

“Today’s charges highlight our commitment to identifying, arresting, and prosecuting anyone who takes part in illegal gang activities.”

The defendants will be arraigned later Tuesday. In all, 13 alleged WOOO members and 19 alleged CHOO members were busted in connection with the takedown.

ncG1vNJzZmimqaW8tMCNnKamZ2Jlf3N7kGpmam1foq6ru9FmpbKbXZyur7OMrZiknZSkxK95yKeapa2UmsBurtSsq2anlmK6orqMsJ%2BoZaOdvLV5kmawnpmiYrytsIyppqWhk5p6tLvUq5qeq18%3D