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Brooklyn D.A. Promises Justice at Rally for Marcy Houses Shooting Victim

 Charles J. Hynes told mourners that his office would prosecute "to the fullest extent of the law."
Mourners bow their heads in prayer at a rally for shooting victim Mario Lopez.
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BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — The alleged shooter who left three teenagers hospitalized and one dead at Bed-Stuy's Marcy Houses on Saturday will be prosecuted to "the fullest extent of the law."

That was Brooklyn District Attorney Charles J. Hynes' message to family, friends and neighbors of Mario Lopez at a "peace and prayer rally" for the 18-year-old shooting victim on Tuesday night.

"We will do everything we can to prosecute this young man who killed Mario Lopez," Hynes told the dozens of mourners gathered outside Lopez's home at 472 Marcy Ave. in the Marcy Houses. "That's my promise."

Police and prosecutors say Lopez was gunned down at 6:30 p.m. Saturday by 20-year-old Bed-Stuy resident Brandon Reese, in what appeared to be a gang-related shooting. A 13-year-old male was shot in the neck, and two other males, ages 14 and 15, were shot in the leg, police said.

Reese was a member of the Tompkins Get Money Crew, police said, while Lopez and two other victims were allegedly members of the Young Slackers. Police said a fourth victim was affiliated with the Marcy Gangsters.

The shooting happened shortly after the Marcy on the Rise basketball tournament, according to witnesses. Victoria Holley, 44, had just sent her daughter inside when she heard shots ring out.

After checking on her daughter, Holley, an off-duty EMT, ran to the scene and heard people shouting, "He's bleeding! He's bleeding!"

She immediately rushed to Lopez's side and, using towels, applied pressure to his stomach wounds, she said.

"I just kept telling him, 'Look at me, breathe, breathe,'" Holley said. "I haven't slept since it happened."

Lopez was later pronounced dead at Woodhull Hospital.

Reese was charged with murder, attempted murder, assault, criminal possession of a weapon and criminal use of a firearm, prosecutors said.

At Tuesday's rally, speakers led the group in prayer and urged neighbors to come forward to help stop violence whenever possible.

"It's not about 'snitching,'" said Naomi Colon, the head of the Marcy Houses resident association. "It's about looking out for each other."