Two men were shot in the head during a botched robbery at a suspected gambling den in Flushing on the night of Thursday, Dec. 19.

Police from the 109th Precinct in Flushing responded to a 911 call of shots fired at around 9:20 at the illicit gambling parlor that was operating inside an apartment building at 41-19 Haight St., where they found a 37-year-old man who was shot in the back of his head.

A 42-year-old man was shot in his cheek and he was transported by private means to New York-Presbyterian Queens Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition, an NYPD spokeswoman said Monday. EMS responded to the crime scene and rushed the younger victim to the same hospital, where he was listed in critical condition and required emergency surgery.

Police are looking for three Hispanic men who were seen running from the building shortly after the shots were fired. They jumped into a white SUV that sped away from the scene toward Sanford Avenue.

Anyone with information regarding this investigation is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at
crimestoppers.nypdonline.org or on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) @NYPDTips. All calls and messages are kept confidential.

Through Dec. 15, the 109th Precinct has reported 284 robberies so far in 2024, 32 fewer than the 316 reported at the same point last year, a decline of 10.1%, according to the most recent CompStat report. Felony assaults are on the rise in the precinct with 479 reported so far this year, 44 more than the 435 reported at the same point in 2023, an increase of 10.1%, according to CompStat.