The NYPD is reaching out to the community for assistance in locating a suspect involved in a chaotic gang-related shooting at a Brooklyn lounge that resulted in three fatalities back in August.
On Saturday night, authorities unveiled a photograph of 34-year-old Haile Cummings, who is wanted in connection with the violent incident at Taste of the City Lounge situated on Franklin Avenue in Crown Heights, which took place on August 17.
The tragic event claimed the lives of three individuals, including Marvin St. Louis, a 19-year-old member of the Brims gang, whose provocative hand gesture allegedly triggered the deadly exchange of gunfire. St. Louis fired several shots at Jamel Childs, a 35-year-old affiliated with the Folk Nation gang, who retaliated in kind. Amadou Diallo, aged 27, believed by police to be an innocent bystander, was also fatally hit during the gunfight.
Approximately ten minutes before the confrontation erupted at 3:30 a.m., video footage captured Childs and St. Louis engaging in conversation, as NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch remarked following the incident.
“Subsequently, Mr. St. Louis approached Mr. Childs and commenced shooting,” Tisch explained. “In response, Mr. Childs fired back, and two additional gunmen immediately joined the fray.”
Commissioner Tisch noted that while most victims of the shooting were not directly involved in the gang rivalry, three of the injured were identified as members of the Folk Nation.
A total of 14 people were shot during the gunfight. Forty-two shell casings were recovered by police inside and outside the lounge.
On Oct. 1, cops busted Elijah Roy, 25, a reputed member of the 5-9 Brims gang, a subset of the Bloods, charging him with firing a barrage of bullets at members of the rival Folk Nation Gangster Disciples.
Authorities caught up to Roy down in North Carolina on Sept. 18, where he had $7,000 in cash on him when arrested, the feds alleged.
Video released by federal prosecutors of the Brooklyn lounge shooting showed more than 40 shots fired in just six seconds as patrons fell to the ground or scrambled for the exit. A man the feds identified as Roy can be seen ducking and running, then firing twice as he falls to the ground.
Roy, who also goes by “Eli Spice” and “Swervo,” was charged with assault in aid of racketeering and felon in possession of ammunition. He was ordered held without bail at his arraignment in Brooklyn Federal Court.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477)
