TEENAGER KILLED AND 8 HURT IN 2 SHOOTINGS IN BROOKLYN

Nine people were shot in two separate incidents in Brooklyn early
yesterday, including a 15-year-old boy who later died after an attack the
police said was linked to a killing in May.

Three men were also shot in the incident that left the boy dead, the police
said. The shooting occurred about 1:30 a.m. on Decatur Street near Wilson
Avenue in Bushwick, an area that serves as an open-air drug bazaar. The
police said the gunman's target, Tyrone Fair, 24, a member of the Bloods
street gang, witnessed the May killing.

In yesterday's second attack, which occurred shortly before 2 a.m. in front
of 391 Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights, five people who were leaving a
party were shot by a man they had argued with earlier in the night, the
police said. One person was hospitalized in serious condition and four were
hospitalized in stable condition.

In the Bushwick attack, the 15-year-old, David Cromartie of Brooklyn, and
one of the men, who was critically wounded, were both shot in the head, the
police said. The police identified the critically wounded man as Mister
Smith, 23. Investigators believe they were shot because they were standing
with Mr. Fair and another man, both of whom suffered less serious injuries,
a police official said. Mr. Fair was shot in the leg and arm.

The other man, Jermain Saunders, 19, was shot twice in the leg, the police
said.

Mr. Cromartie and Mr. Smith were taken to Wyckoff Heights Medical Center,
the authorities said. Mr. Cromartie was shot in the face and leg and died
later in the morning, and Mr. Smith, who was shot once in the head, was
said to be in extremely grave condition, the police said. A nursing
supervisor at the hospital declined to discuss the two patients and refused
to contact the hospital's administrator on duty.

Mr. Saunders and Mr. Fair were in stable condition at Brookdale University
Hospital and Medical Center, the police said.

The Bushwick shootings left Decatur Street between Wilson and Central
Avenues littered with spent shell casings and splotches of the victims'
blood. The block was closed off for several hours while detectives mapped
out the crime scene after the victims were taken to the hospitals.

Detectives believe that Mr. Fair was targeted by a man who lives on nearby
Chauncy Street, the police said.

On May 26, two men were shot in front of 40 Greene Avenue in the Fort
Greene section. One of them, Glenn Bills, 20, later died.

Another man who lives on Chauncy Street, Jahleel Foster, 18, was later
charged with murdering Mr. Bills, the police said.

It was unclear whether Mr. FairMapNews has testified before a grand jury or
provided information to the police about Mr. Bills's slaying, but one
police official said the earlier killing "was at the heart of the motive."

Late yesterday, near the scene of the Bushwick shooting, one woman who
identified herself as a friend of the dead teenager's mother said the boy
had run afoul of Brooklyn's hardscrabble streets. "He wanted to be with his
boys, fast money and fast life, and he just got caught out there," said the
woman, Lisa Dunn, 39, who lives nearby and was wearing a T-shirt emblazoned
with the legend "Life Is Good."