Two men died after gunfire Friday night inside Howard Playground, a public recreation area near the Howard Houses complex.
NEW YORK — A public playground in Brooklyn’s Brownsville neighborhood became the scene of a double fatal shooting Friday night after two men were found wounded there and later died at separate hospitals, police said.
The gunfire was reported at Howard Playground near Mother Gaston Boulevard and Glenmore Avenue at about 10:23 p.m. Officers responding to the scene found a 33-year-old man shot in the neck and a 35-year-old man who had been shot in the chest and ankle. Both were taken for emergency treatment but were pronounced dead.
Howard Playground is part of the network of public recreation spaces serving the Brownsville area. City planning documents describe it as an approximately one-acre mapped park, and local government listings place the Howard Houses park and pool facilities at Mother Gaston Boulevard and Glenmore Avenue. Parks records have classified Howard Playground as a small park with athletic and playground facilities.
The setting distinguished Friday night’s shooting from violence occurring inside a home, business or vehicle. The victims were found within a space intended for public recreation, though authorities had not released information indicating what the two men were doing at the playground before the gunfire began or how long they had been there.
The 33-year-old man was taken to Interfaith Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. The 35-year-old man was transported to Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center and also died. Their names were not included in the initial public account of the shooting.
Police had not announced a motive, identified a suspect or said whether detectives believed one or more people opened fire. Authorities also had not publicly established whether the two victims were together when the shooting began or whether either man was specifically targeted.
No additional injuries were reported in the initial account. Police also had not released information about possible witnesses, surveillance footage or recovered firearms. Without those details, the sequence of events inside the playground remained largely unknown Saturday.
The shooting left detectives investigating both the circumstances of the two deaths and what occurred in the public space before officers arrived. Police said no arrests had been made, and the investigation remained ongoing Saturday.
Author note: Last updated September 12, 2026.