On the evening of October 26, 2015, 16-year-old Armani Hankins was killed in a downtown Brooklyn shooting tied to a feud between rival street gangs. Hankins, a resident of Jamaica, Queens, was with friends near Flatbush Avenue Extension and Dekalb Avenue at about 6:00 p.m. when a confrontation with another group of teens escalated into gunfire outside a busy Applebee’s. A Black male from the opposing group fired; Hankins was struck in the head and collapsed. Emergency services took him to Brooklyn Hospital Center, where he was pronounced dead. An 18-year-old friend was shot in the ankle and survived in stable condition.

Authorities linked the violence to a feud between the 4 to 5 crew of East New York, which included Hankins, and the 900 gang from Fort Greene. In the days after the shooting, 17-year-old Malik Peters and another teen, Tyshawn Simon-Roberson, were arrested in connection with the incident. Trial testimony later described Simon-Roberson firing first and Peters fatally shooting Hankins as the groups fled, and the case reportedly sparked retaliatory shootings and a revenge-themed rap video.

If anyone knew Armani, his routine, or saw activity near Flatbush Avenue Extension and Dekalb Avenue that evening, please share what was seen.