NEW YORK: The four people killed when gunfire erupted at an illegal gambling club in Brooklyn were all local men, police said Sunday as they continue to investigate the circumstances of their deaths. The New York Police Department identified the dead as Terence Bishop (36), Dominick Wimbush (47), Chester Goode (37) and John Thomas (32).
Three other people were wounded but expected to survive. Police said just over a dozen people had been gambling with dice and cards at the small club when the violence erupted just before 7 am Saturday. The unlicensed club had a sign identifying it as the "Triple A Aces Private & Social Event Space."
It was on the first floor of an older wood-frame townhouse on a block with some empty storefronts and boarded-up buildings. Investigators were determining if a gambling dispute, a robbery, or something else was to blame. Two handguns were recovered, and multiple shots were fired.
The local police precinct headquarters is two blocks away, and authorities said officers had not previously received any complaints about the location. There was no immediate sign that the shootings had any connection to gangs, which have been a problem in that part of Brooklyn.
Samuel Revells told The New York Times that he was the building owner and had leased the event space out but didn't say to whom. "It's a social club. They're good tenants. I'm here every day but I don't know what goes on there. I'm just sorry for what happened," he said.