A 9-year-old boy is recovering after police said he was struck and injured by a stray bullet on a Brooklyn street on Thursday evening.
NYPD officials said the gunfire rang out around 6 p.m. outside a building on Bristol Street near Livonia Avenue in Brownsville. The boy was hit in his right leg and taken to Maimonides Hospital in stable condition, officials said.
Police said they are still investigating whom the shooter or shooters were trying to hit, but the boy was not the intended target.
The NYPD said it is looking for three men who fled the scene. One of them was wearing a light-blue sweatsuit, another was wearing a dark-blue sweatsuit and the third was wearing all-black clothing, according to authorities.
Police data shows shootings in the 73rd Precinct, which includes Brownsville and Ocean Hill, have declined so far this year compared to the same point last year. Through March 22, there were two shootings in the precinct, down from seven in the same period in 2025, according to the data.
Citywide, NYPD figures show gun violence so far in 2026 is about at the same level as at this time last year, which officials said was a record-low year for shootings. Crime experts say shootings tend to increase as the weather warms up, as people spend more time gathering outdoors.
Police said they are also investigating a fatal shooting in the Bronx that happened earlier Thursday.
Assam Alshaif, 21, was shot and killed at Jerome and Bainbridge avenues, near Woodlawn Cemetery, around 9:45 a.m., officials said.
The NYPD said it later arrested 18-year-old Jadore Reid and charged him with murder, manslaughter and weapons possession in connection with the shooting.
Information for his lawyer was not available early Friday, and police said they were still looking into a potential motive.
This story is based on preliminary information from police and may be updated.