ISTANBUL

Three people were killed and nine others wounded when up to four gunmen opened fire inside a New York City restaurant in Brooklyn early Sunday following a dispute at the crowded venue.

Police responded to multiple 911 calls at around 3.27 am local time (0727GMT) about a shooting at the Taste of the City Lounge on Franklin Avenue in Crown Heights, New York Police Department (NYPD) Commissioner Jessica Tisch said at a media briefing.

"Officers arrived within minutes of the first 911 call and found numerous gunshot victims inside the location," Tisch told the media.

She said the 12 victims ranged in age from 19 to 61, with nine men and three women. The victim count has increased from 11 to 12 since an earlier briefing.

The three men who died were 19, 27, and 35 years old. The 19-year-old was pronounced dead on the scene, while the other two died in hospitals.

According to Tisch, nine others suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were transported to area hospitals.

Incident appears to be gang-related

"What we know preliminarily is that there was a dispute inside the crowded club that led to the shooting," Tisch said, noting that the event "preliminarily appears to be gang-related."

She said that while authorities believe some of the victims were involved in the shooting, "there had to have been innocent victims here."

Tisch said no arrests have been made, and investigators discovered 42 shell casings from multiple guns at the scene.

'Horrific act of gun violence'

New York City Mayor Eric Adams described the incident as "a horrific act of gun violence," pointing out that it was the second mass shooting within weeks.

In late July, an attack occurred in Manhattan, killing four people, including an NYPD officer.

"Gun violence of this magnitude really scars a community and a city," Adams said, noting that the city has removed over 22,000 illegal guns from the streets.

Crisis management teams have been deployed to assist victims' families and prevent potential retaliation, he said.

Tisch said in her earlier briefing, “We have the lowest number of shooting incidents and shooting victims seven months into the year we’ve seen on record in the city of New York.

“Something like this is, of course, thank God, an anomaly, and it’s a terrible thing that’s happened this morning.”