June 26, 2026 BROOKLYN, NY A terrifying reign of terror has finally been dismantled in Brooklyn.
In a dramatic press conference on Thursday morning, Governor Kathy Hochul and Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez stood before a row of confiscated handguns—the literal smoking guns behind a devastating, multi-year gang war that turned innocent bystanders into target practice.
The weapons belonged to 22 alleged members of a ruthless subset of the Folk Nation gang, known on the streets as the “Renegade Goons” and “OOs.” A massive 176-count indictment accuses the syndicate of waging a bloody, reckless war across Crown Heights and Flatbush, executing 26 separate shootings that left 23 people wounded and one young man dead.
The Spark: A Blood Feud Ignites
According to prosecutors, the trail of bullets began in October 2022. The catalyst? The targeted killings of high-ranking gang members Jamel “Melly Gzs” Nicholson and Lawrence “Lo Bandz” Augustin by a rival crew, the 59 Brim gang.
What followed was a relentless, calculated hunting season. Instead of just "spinning the block" and firing wildly, authorities say these subsets stalked Brooklyn communities, actively hunting down anyone they believed to be associated with their rivals.
The Barbershop Assassination
The most chilling piece of evidence unveiled by the DA was surveillance video documenting the final moments of 24-year-old Daequan Buckley in 2024.
The footage allegedly shows 21-year-old Shamear Webster lurking outside a barbershop near Utica and Church Avenues for 20 agonizing minutes. The moment Buckley stepped outside after getting his haircut, Webster allegedly opened fire five times, piercing Buckley’s heart and lung.
“He didn’t stand a chance. He was assassinated right there," DA Gonzalez said, holding up the specific firearm used in the slaying. "We know that this is in fact a gun that was used to kill a 24-year-old man who had just gotten his hair cut.”
No One Was Safe: The Sweet 16 Bloodbath
The gang's utter disregard for human life didn't stop with targeted rivals. In another horrific incident caught on tape, alleged gunmen Deremous Wilder and Gabriel Rhoden opened fire outside a Sweet 16 birthday party on Atlantic Avenue in East New York.
Six teenagers, aged just 15 to 17, were caught in the crossfire and wounded. Chillingly, investigators revealed that one of the gunmen used a handgun equipped with a tactical laser sight to aim at the crowd.
A New, Untraceable Threat on the Rise
Among the weapons displayed by Governor Hochul was a dangerous modern anomaly: a fully functional, 3D-printed "ghost gun."
