NEW YORK — A shooting and a slashing occurred minutes apart near New York University’s downtown Brooklyn campus Tuesday, causing a panic among the student body, police said.
A group of teens had gathered outside of MetroTech Center near Bridge Street when someone fired off several shots around 10:45 a.m., cops said.
NYU students were immediately alerted to the shooting in a Twitter posting from NYU Campus Safety that read “Report of shots fired near 2 MetroTech Center, BK. If you are in the area: Run, Hide, or Fight. Others stay away. Help is on the way.”
When officers arrived at the scene the group of teens seen running from the shooting were gone. At least seven shell casings were recovered at the scene.
No one was hit by gunfire.
About 15 minutes later, at around 11 a.m., police officers were alerted to a slashing on Jay and Willoughby streets, just two blocks from where the shooting occurred.
The victim, a 15-year-old boy, suffered a gash to the right side of his face and upper lip, police sources said.
Detectives are trying to determine if the shots fired were in some way connected to the slashing.
NYU’s Downtown Brooklyn Campus has several classrooms and offices in MetroTech Commons, according to the school’s website.
“Home to our Tandon School of Engineering as well as several programs within the Tisch School of the Arts and the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development our students thrive in the Brooklyn Tech Triangle, the heart of New York City’s growing tech scene,” the website notes.
A few minutes after the first tweet, NYU Security sent a follow up post reading “NYU Alert- ALL CLEAR 2 MetroTech Center - Brooklyn. Police activity remains in the area.”
Several people commented on the tweets, eager to know what was happening.
“Run. hide or fight — really. how about more security on site 24X7,” Twitter user @mom2cmo wrote.
“Clarify your message,” tweeted Shelli Rosen. “Only fight *in a last resort*, how irresponsible to leave that out!!!”
An email to NYU Security was not immediately returned.
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