Brooklyn bar shooting: Gang member charged in attack that killed 3; faces racketeering and firearms charges

Federal prosecutors have charged a man in connection with a gang-related shooting at a crowded Brooklyn bar in August that left three people dead and 10 others injured.

The fight unfolded on August 17 inside the Taste of City Lounge in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn.

Elijah Roy , 25, a gang member , was among the shooters, according to a criminal complaint unsealed Wednesday. He arrived at the club with several associates. Around 3.30 am, one of those associates, 19-year-old Marvin St Louis, began taunting a rival gang member, 35-year-old Jamel Childs, authorities said.

The confrontation quickly escalated. St Louis shot at Childs, who returned fire. Both St Louis and Childs were killed, as was another man, 27-year-old Amadou Diallo, who is believed to have been a bystander.

After ducking under a table, Roy fired two shots, prosecutors said. It was unclear if those shots hit anyone. He is accused of violent assault in aid of racketeering and illegal possession of ammunition.

Prosecutors described Roy and St Louis as members of the 5-9 Brims, a subset of the Bloods , while Childs belonged to a rival gang, the Folk Nation Gangster Disciples .

Roy was arrested last week in North Carolina carrying $7,000 in cash, according to the complaint. He was arraigned Wednesday afternoon and ordered held without bail.

Despite this incident, New York City has seen a year of record-low gun violence, with the fewest number of shootings and shooting victims recorded during the first nine months of 2025, according to police.

At a vigil for the victims in August, mayor Eric Adams said, “what happened in the Taste of the City is not a reflection of our city.”