Overview
- Brooklyn prosecutors and the NYPD announced Wednesday that 36 alleged members of the rival WOOO and CHOO alliances were charged in two indictments that cite 36 shootings and 188 counts, with 11 victims including one death.
- Authorities said 35 defendants have been arraigned in Brooklyn Supreme Court and one suspect remains at large after an investigation that drew on surveillance video, ballistics work, social media posts, and a cache of seized guns.
- Prosecutors linked the feud to neighboring public-housing complexes, with WOOO tied to Van Dyke, Langston Hughes, Noble Drew Ali Plaza, and Brownsville Houses, and CHOO tied to Tilden, Howard, Marcus Garvey Village, Newport Gardens, and Riverdale Towers.
- Investigators highlighted key episodes, including the June 29, 2025 killing of 34-year-old Tahriq Thompson captured on video and a June 12, 2024 gang assault outside the district attorney’s offices that left a 17-year-old with a brain injury.
- Officials credited focused enforcement and community work for recent declines in gun violence, while the similarity to a large 2022 takedown of the same rival networks underscored how these conflicts can resurface without sustained prevention.