Bushwick Dispute Turns Violent, 20-Year-Old Shot Twice as Gunman Flees

A dispute outside 1001 Decatur Street in Bushwick turned violent just before 11:40 p.m. on August 1, when a gunman shot a 20-year-old man in the arm and leg before fleeing on foot. Police say the victim is expected to recover after being rushed to Brookdale Hospital, but the shooter remains at large.

According to News12 New York, police say the gunman approached the 20-year-old and engaged him in a dispute before brandishing a firearm and opening fire. Investigators say the shooter then fled westbound on Decatur Street, leaving the young victim wounded on the pavement. NYPD is asking anyone with information to call the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS.

NYPD radio dispatches described the fleeing suspect as a light-skinned male with dreadlocks wearing a blue surgical mask, a beige hoodie, and gray pants, according to Citizen. The same dispatch traffic indicated that 83rd Precinct leadership called a Level 1 Mobilization at Bushwick Avenue and Broadway shortly after the shooting, deploying additional borough task force officers to canvass the surrounding blocks in search of the gunman. No arrest had been announced as of the latest reporting.

Victim Treated on Scene Before Hospital Transport

Video reporting by FreedomNewsTV, viewable on YouTube, noted that the 20-year-old sustained gunshot wounds specifically to his left leg and left arm before emergency medical personnel treated him on Decatur Street and transported him to the hospital in stable condition. Brookdale Hospital Medical Center operates a high-volume trauma center in East Brooklyn that treated nearly 2,000 emergency trauma patients in a single year, and it frequently receives gunshot victims from Bushwick and East New York, per One Brooklyn Health. The 83rd Precinct, which handles patrol and investigations across the area bounded by Flushing Avenue to the north and Broadway to the south, is based out of a station house at 480 Knickerbocker Avenue, according to 50-a.org.

Bushwick Sees Crime Spike Even as Citywide Shootings Hit Record Lows

The Decatur Street shooting comes amid a wider surge in major crime specific to the 83rd Precinct. An analysis of NYPD CompStat data published by City Journal in July found that major index crime in the precinct rose 31.6% compared to 2025 — the highest percentage increase of any NYPD precinct citywide. That local spike stands in sharp contrast to citywide trends: official NYPD statistics released in August showed New York City recorded its lowest overall number of shooting incidents, shooting victims, and murders on record through the first seven months of 2026.

This is not the only recent street dispute in Bushwick to end in gunfire. A separate confrontation outside 1704 Broadway resulted in a 15-year-old being shot in the foot on July 22, an incident Hoodline covered in its report, teen shot, gunman flees scene. Both non-fatal shootings occurred within days of each other in the same precinct, adding to a string of violent incidents that have also included a April shooting of a 39-year-old parked on Cooper Street and a daylight shooting near a Bushwick post office in May.

Potential Charges If Gunman Is Caught

If investigators identify and apprehend the shooter, he could face serious charges under New York law. Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree — possessing a loaded firearm outside a home or business — is a Class C violent felony carrying a mandatory minimum sentence of 3.5 years and up to 15 years in state prison, according to the Law Office of Cory Garcia, P.C. Prosecutors could also pursue Assault in the First Degree, a Class B violent felony under New York Penal Law that applies to intentional serious injury inflicted with a deadly weapon and carries a maximum sentence of up to 25 years in state prison, per the New York State Senate.

For now, the man responsible for shooting the 20-year-old remains unidentified and unaccounted for, with police continuing to canvass the neighborhood around Decatur Street. Anyone with information about the shooting or the suspect's identity is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.