An afternoon dispute in East New York turned into a street-side shootout Thursday, with at least one bullet tearing through an MTA bus window and sending police on a hunt for the shooters. Officers rushed to Flatlands Avenue and Williams Avenue just before 4 p.m. after neighbors reported hearing multiple shots. Somehow, no one was hit.
According to Brooklyn Paper, an NYPD spokesperson said four people were involved in a dispute when one person pulled a gun and opened fire. Detectives recovered a firearm at the scene and are searching for two groups of suspects believed to be tied to the gunplay. No arrests had been made as of Friday. The outlet identified the struck vehicle as a B103 MTA bus.
On-the-ground coverage from News 12 Brooklyn showed officers marking shell casings and a bullet hole punched through the front window of the bus. An MTA spokesperson told the station there were no passengers on board when the bus was hit, a small miracle given the time of day. Neighbors said the scene turned chaotic in seconds as shots rang out in broad daylight, and investigators spent hours combing the block for surveillance video and witnesses.
Precinct trends and neighborhood alarm
As Brooklyn Paper reports, the gunfire landed in the middle of a year with rising shooting numbers in the NYPD’s 75th Precinct. The outlet cites 16 incidents in the comparable period of 2025 and about 20 so far in 2026, a roughly 25 percent jump. Neighbors told the paper they were rattled that the shots went off in broad daylight and that the bullet that hit the bus could just as easily have struck a pedestrian or driver. Officers stayed on the block for hours, gathering evidence and pressing anyone with camera footage to come forward.
Possible charges and next steps
No charges have been announced, and officials say the investigation is still active. Under New York law, reckless endangerment and criminal possession of a weapon are among the offenses prosecutors could weigh in situations where gunfire puts bystanders in harm’s way. Those statutes and the related jury instructions fall under Article 120 of the Penal Law, and readers can turn to the state’s model jury instructions for detailed definitions and potential penalties…