New York Post Mollie Bracewell, 34, a Harvard Law School grad who works in the US Attorneyâs office in Manhattan, was dining outside Muse in Prospect Heights at around 9 p.m. Friday as the Thai hotspot turned into a warzone when two rival gangs squabbling nearby opened fire, sources told The Post.
Bracewell heard four shots and felt pain in her left eye and was taken to Kings County Hospital where an X-Ray found there was a bullet fragment lodged under her eye, police sources said.
Benjamin Bustamante, a 31-year-old man who was strolling by the Washington Avenue restaurant was shot in the foot and taken to Methodist Hospital, said police. He was also an unintended victim, according to police.
A 17-year-old was arrested in connection with the shootings. He was charged with criminal possession of a weapon and police said they were investigating whether he fired the shots.
Bracewell confirmed through the intercom of her nearby apartment Saturday that she was one of the restaurant victims.
âIâm sorry, but if you want to talk to anyone you should reach out to our press office,â she told The Post. âIâm not going to answer any other questions.â
A spokesman for the US Attorneyâs office declined to comment and said Bracewell would have no comment.
Bracewell has worked in the general crimes and narcotics units of the office and prosecuted sex trafficking and the case against Sarah Lawrence College âsex cultâ leader Lawrence Ray.
Bustamante appeared to be recovering in good spirits Saturday after being struck in the foot by gunfire, writing on Instagram âgot me new sneakers!!! no bullet holes in this one,â accompanied by a picture of his right foot in a cast in what appears to be a hospital bed with a crutch pictured in the background.
Muse manager Onvadee Bunsri described the mayhem at the packed eatery which had a line out the door as locals kicked off the weekend.
âThey shot the glass door and the glass door was broken,â she said. âThe customers were down on the floor. Everyone was down on the floor.â
She observed Bracewell appeared âreally hurt.â
âThis is really scary. She was just eating,â the manager said.
Neighbors said they are terrified by the surge of shootings.
âThis is Brooklyn in the 1970s and 1980s,â one resident said. âI didnât feel like I would live through this twice.â
The number of shootings has skyrocketed 82 percent this year to 490 through May 16 compared to 270 during the same period last year, NYPD stats show.
âUnfortunately, it wonât take a federal prosecutor getting shot dining al fresco for the mayor, City Council, Corey Johnson, and their gaggle of defund the police activists to admit theyâve gone too far,â said Joseph Giacalone, a retired NYPD sergeant and adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice âShootings and murders have ravaged minority neighborhoods the past year and their silence has been deafening.â
Additional reporting by Melissa Klein
