In the summer of 2018, a dispute that simmered between two groups of friends in a Brooklyn park erupted into deadly violence, claiming the life of a young father. Hamler Cabrera-De Jesus, a 21-year-old male from Brooklyn, was fatally shot in the back on the evening of July 26, 2018, at the Bushwick Playground. The park was filled with the sounds of children playing soccer when a fight broke out among a group of men around 6:30 p.m.
Amid the chaos, gunfire rang out, and Cabrera-De Jesus, who had two young children, was struck down.
Two other men, both 20 years old, were also wounded in the shooting but survived their injuries. One was shot in the back and elbow, while the other suffered a graze wound to his arm. In the immediate aftermath, friends and family of Cabrera-De Jesus gathered to create a memorial with candles and photos on Gates Avenue in Ridgewood, mourning the sudden and violent loss of a man they described as a beloved son and a devoted father to two children, one of whom was just five months old at the time.
The investigation into the shooting quickly led to a suspect. On July 30, 2018, just four days after the incident, the New York Police Department arrested 18-year-old Damien Grimes Fuller in connection with the killing. Fuller was charged with second-degree murder, criminal possession of a weapon, and reckless endangerment. Authorities believe the shooting was the tragic culmination of a dispute between the two groups that escalated into a fatal confrontation.
