By Ben Fractenberg and Yepoka Yeebo
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
CENTRAL HARLEM — Two men and one young woman were shot and another man slashed in the back after an argument allegedly turned violent in Central Harlem Sunday night, police said.
One man, 19, was shot in the chest and face and is in critical condition at Harlem Hospital. The other two shooting victims, one woman, 15, shot in the back and the other man, 23, in the arm, are also in Harlem Hospital in stable condition.
The slashing victim, 24, is in the same hospital, also in stable condition.
The incident reportedly happened around 11:15 p.m. between 143rd and 144th streets on Lenox Avenue, near a park.
Courtney Bennett, the director of Minisink Townhouse, a local community center a block away from the violence, said he had just finished cleaning up after a Father's Day cook-out about 8 p.m. when he noticed the gathering crowd.
"I saw young adults talking, lots of double-parked cars, music playing, food...I remember thinking, 'I hope no violence breaks out,'" Bennett said. "Unfortunately, it did."
Carlos Slores, who works at a Goldstar Corp. bodega one block away, said that by 11 p.m. the area was teeming with people. He said that when the shooting happened, people took cover in his store.
“Everybody was running. There was a lot of police and they asked us to close the store for 30 minutes,” Slores said
The store clerk said that there were tons of people clustered outside the store and the NYPD were trying to disperse the crowd.
On Monday night several police officers were patrolling the area.
There were no arrests and police have not identified the victims.
