Blow-Dart Barrage in Brooklyn Pinned on Two 15-Year-Old Boys

Police in Brooklyn tracked down one of two teen boys said to be responsible for shooting blow darts at random pedestrians in Bath Beach Sunday evening.

All told, 15-year-old Gustavo Vasquez and an unidentified friend fired some 10 darts at strangers from a rooftop approximately 25 feet away. Police officers say Vasquez "basically copped to it" after they showed up at the 86th Street apartment where he lives.

The search is still on for his accomplice, an unidentified 15-year-old with a criminal past who allegedly supplied the blow gun.

"He did not provide further reason for why he shot the people or how he or [his alleged accomplice] got hold of the blow gun," a law-enforcement source told the New York Post.


All three victims sustained injuries, but were happy to learn that the darts were not contaminated with a hazardous substance. Still, the incident rattled 52-year-old victim Arkadiy Shklyaver pretty severely. "I felt like someone was hunting," he told the Post.

To some, Sunday's ambush was all too reminiscent of the infamous Dart Man attacks, which occurred in the summer of 1990. Bronx resident Jerome Wright was arrested in connection with 53 dart attacks, all against women, but his charges were eventually reduced to misdemeanors.

"This has always been a safe neighborhood," resident Sarah Weissman told the Daily News. "It's pretty shocking that he just shot people at random. You don't want to be walking around afraid someone may shoot you with a dart."

[H/T: Gothamist, screengrabs via NY1]