A 33-year-old woman bled to death in a Brooklyn bar bathroom after a stray bullet struck her during a massive street brawl.
Sofronie Hartzog, 33, was hit in the back when gunfire erupted outside the Ooh La La Lounge near Bergen Street and Howard Avenue in Crown Heights around 2:23 a.m. Sunday, according to the NYPD. The bullet came amid a fight involving roughly 100 people that spilled onto the street from the nightclub.
Hartzog ran into the bar seeking help and collapsed in a restroom, police sources said. Medics rushed her to One Brooklyn Health-One Brookdale Hospital Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.
A 34-year-old man also was struck in the abdomen by the same gunfire, police said. He was taken to NYC Health and Hospitals/Kings County Hospital in stable condition. Both victims were unintended targets of the shooting, according to investigators.
The dispute that sparked the massive brawl remains unclear. Police have not determined whether the gunman was part of the crowd or fired from outside it.
Two men who matched descriptions of suspects were taken into custody shortly after the shooting but were released once investigators determined they were not involved, sources said. No arrests have been made in the killing.
The Ooh La La Lounge sits in a busy commercial stretch of Crown Heights, a neighborhood that has seen periodic spikes in gun violence despite overall declining crime trends in Brooklyn. The club was not immediately reachable for comment on the deadly incident.
Hartzog’s death marks the latest in a string of violent episodes tied to late-night gatherings in the borough. Community leaders have repeatedly called for increased police presence around nightlife venues, particularly during the summer months when outdoor crowds swell.
In the viral moment that preceded the tragedy, about 100 people had gathered outside the Ooh La La Lounge in the early morning hours when a dispute broke out among the crowd. The confrontation escalated rapidly, and at least one gunman opened fire into the mass of people. Hartzog, who had been at the venue, was struck as she tried to flee the chaos. She made it inside the bar before collapsing from her wound in the bathroom, where she bled out before help could save her.
The NYPD’s 77th Precinct is leading the investigation, with detectives reviewing surveillance footage from nearby businesses and seeking additional witnesses who may have recorded the brawl on their phones. Police are asking anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers.
The surviving victim, 34, was expected to recover from his abdominal wound, though he remained hospitalized. Police have not released his name.
Cops are still hunting for the criminals who caused the carnage, and no motive has been established for the gunfire.