Police Searching For Suspects In Vicious Hyland Park Gang Attack

Police are searching for approximately 10 assailants who violently attacked three park patrons in broad daylight  in Hyland Park on May 17th.  Anyone with information is being asked to contact the 75th Pct Detective Squad -  Det. Sharon Vargas at (718) 827- 3548 or Det. Borough Brooklyn North at (718) 287- 3239   Case # 2014-2224

Police plastered the park with flyers calling the incident a "wilding" attack.

(Photo: Geoffrey Croft/NYC Park Advocates) click on image to enlarge

Brooklyn/Queens

By Geoffrey Croft

In what police describe as a "wilding" spree,  authorities are asking for the public's help in tracking down a gang responsible for a series of vicious attacks which left two park patrons with gun-shot injuries and a third with a stab wound that required 40 stitches.

The bloody rampage happened in broad daylight on May 18, 5:45 p.m. when a group of men, believed to be in their late teens to early 20's roamed through Highland Park in East New York armed with sticks, canes, knives and at least one gun, police said.

Media reports initially said it was an altercation stemming from a basketball game. Investigators however believe the attacks were random and three separate incidents as the victims did not know each other. 

A 18-year-old man reported being attacked by the gang and slashed four times in the left arm which required 40 stitches to close the wound.   He told the police he didn't know why he was targeted.

A 17-year-old male was playing basketball when he was approached by a Hispanic man who asked, "are you Trinitarios?" (a violent New York-based street gang composed of Hispanics)  The assailant then shot the teen one time in the left hip.  The victim was treated at Jamaica hospital.  

A 20-year-old man says he was walking in the park when he heard shots. He ran and he was struck one time in the right side of the chest by a bullet.

He was taken to Brookdale Hospital where he is expected to survive.

He told cops he never saw the shooter and doesn't know why he was targeted. 

There are no cameras in the park.

Police plastered the park with flyers calling the incident a "wilding" attack, a reference that came to describe the brutal attack and rape on a jogger in Central Park in April 1989.

The posters ask the public to contact the 75 Pct Detective Squad with any information. 

Police said they have no motives for the rampage in the 141 acre park which straddles the Brooklyn/Queens border and they have made no arrests. 

The case is still open and under investigation.