NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Officials on Tuesday announced that 32 alleged members of two rival Brooklyn street gangs are facing multiple murder and weapons charges.
There are a total of 106 counts in the indictments against 13 alleged WOOO gang members and 19 alleged CHOO gang members whose charges include conspiracy, murder, attempted murder, assault, criminal possession of a weapon, and reckless endangerment, authorities said.
The indictments include charges related to 19 shootings that resulted in 14 victims, including two who died as a result of their injuries. A 3-year-old girl who was leaving daycare, was included among those wounded in the charged shooting incidents.
The indictments are the result of a long-term investigation that started in the spring of 2020 until November that focused on two gang confederacies operating out of several neighboring housing complexes in Brownsville.
On one side is WOOO, based in the Seth Low Houses, Van Dyke Houses, Langston Hughes Houses, Glenmore Plaza, and Brownsville Houses. The gang is made up of numerous subsets, including OMB, 1800, Gorilla Stone Bloods, Makk Balla Bloods, 59 Brim, YAWAH and Pistol Packin Pitkin or PPP.
On the other side of the rivalry is CHOO, based in the Tilden Houses, Howard Houses, Marcus Garvey Village, Newport Gardens, and Riverdale Towers; similarly, CHOO is made up of a collection of crews, including Folk Nation (also known as Gangster Disciples), Move In Silence (M.I.S.) and Hoodstarz.
Dumont Avenue is considered the dividing line between the two gangs’ territories with some WOOO- and CHOO-controlled housing complexes located on the same street.
Much of the violence charged in the indictments was fueled by the murder of WOOO member Shamel Boomer on July 10, 2020, according to police.
WOOO members vowed retaliation against their rivals on social media with CHOO members, in turn, began to retaliate against WOOO members or individuals perceived to be associated with WOOO.
During the period covered in the indictments, there were 27 incidents, including two homicides and 17 non-fatal shootings that wounded 14 people.
There were over 25 different firearms were used in these acts of violence and 27 firearms were recovered during the course of the investigation.
On March 25, it is alleged that Daleek Habersham traveled in a BMW driven by Princess Chambers to Riverdale Avenue, where he allegedly believed a WOOO member resided.
Once in the vicinity, Habersham allegedly exited the BMW and shot directly in the direction of a man who officials said was not a rival while he was putting a young child into his car before running back into the waiting BMW.
A 3-year-old girl who was walking from a nearby daycare, holding her father’s hand, was struck in the shoulder.
The following day, Habersham allegedly sent a screenshot of a news article describing the shooting to a private Instagram group, followed by the message “did bad,” officials noted.
"With this successful takedown we aim to incapacitate two violent gangs that have terrorized parts of Brownsville for too long. Their senseless and indiscriminate gun violence upended the sense of safety for many residents and wounded a number of innocent bystanders, including a 3-year-old-girl who was leaving her daycare center," Brooklyn District Attorney Gonzalez said.
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