Police said the gunfire broke out during a gathering tied to gang members and two armed people were taken into custody.
EAST MEADOW, N.Y. — A 15-year-old boy was killed and two other people were wounded after gunfire broke out Wednesday night at Eisenhower Park, where Nassau County police said a social media-promoted gathering linked to the Bloods gang had drawn people from outside the county.
The shooting turned a busy public park into a crime scene and set off a broad investigation into how a gathering tied to gang members unfolded there after closing time. Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said officers were treating the case as gang-related, though investigators had not publicly identified a motive, named the dead teenager or announced charges against the two people taken into custody with weapons.
Police said officers were called just before 8:30 p.m. Wednesday after reports of multiple people shot at the park in East Meadow. CBS New York reported the shooting happened around 8:20 p.m. near Hempstead Turnpike and Merrick Avenue, while FOX 5 said the gunfire was reported at Field 2. Ryder said an invitation to a barbecue had been circulated over social media and that people tied to the Bloods had come to the park for the gathering. At some point, he said, two people got into an argument while people were grilling, and shots were fired. A 15-year-old boy and two other victims were hit. All three were taken to a local hospital, where the teenager was pronounced dead. The other two victims underwent surgery and were listed in stable condition Thursday morning, according to police. Ryder said, “We’re not going to tolerate what happened.”
Authorities have released only a limited public account of what happened in the minutes before the shooting. Police have not said what the argument was about, who opened fire or whether the 15-year-old was the intended target. They also had not publicly released the names or ages of the two surviving victims. Two people were taken into custody at the scene after they were found with weapons, according to police, but officials did not immediately say whether those weapons were fired or whether the people detained would face homicide or assault charges. Ryder said investigators believed people from the Bronx and Suffolk County were among those attending the gathering and said police had not identified anyone from Nassau County as being involved at that stage of the inquiry. That detail added to concerns about how a park gathering advertised online drew a crowd that crossed county lines before violence erupted.
The shooting happened as the park was closing, adding another layer to the investigation. ABC7 reported workers were clearing the area and locking gates when the gunfire started. An ambulance medic who was already inside the park heard the first shots and ran toward the scene, according to the station. By late Wednesday night, roads around the park were lined with patrol cars and a police helicopter circled overhead as investigators secured the area. Video from the scene showed entrances blocked along East Meadow Avenue and Merrick Avenue while officers worked under floodlights. Eisenhower Park is one of Nassau County’s best-known public spaces, used for sports, walks, community events and family gatherings. That made the violence especially jarring for residents who are used to seeing the park as a routine part of suburban life rather than the setting for a homicide investigation tied to gangs.
Officials said the case remained active Thursday, with homicide detectives and other investigators working to piece together the sequence of events, identify everyone who attended the gathering and determine whether more arrests are coming. Police had not said whether surveillance video, cellphone footage or social media posts from the barbecue had already been recovered, though those materials are likely to be central as detectives sort out who argued, who fired and who may have helped organize the event. No court appearance had been announced publicly by Thursday afternoon, and the department had not released formal charges for the two people taken into custody. Ryder also signaled that county officials would take a harder line on future park gatherings, saying there would be no more parties of that kind in the park after what happened Wednesday night.
The shooting also left families scrambling for information in the dark. ABC7 spoke with one mother who said her 17-year-old son called to say that his 15-year-old friend had been shot. “My friend just got shot,” she recalled him saying. She said the call left her shaken and struggling to understand how violence had broken out in a place where families expect children to be safe. Her account underscored how quickly the chaos spread beyond the immediate victims to parents, friends and others connected to the gathering. Even as officers taped off parts of the park, key questions remained unanswered: whether the gathering had been monitored beforehand, how many shots were fired and whether the teenager who died had any direct role in the dispute. Those unanswered questions are likely to shape the next stage of the investigation.
As of Thursday, one teenager was dead, two victims were recovering and investigators were still sorting out who did what inside the park. The next major milestone is the expected release of names, charges and any new police briefing as detectives continue the case.
Author note: Last updated April 16, 2026.