Their Brooklyn neighborhood felt like a safe haven in a big city. Tuesday's subway attack changed that

Latest Videos

Yav Montano describes the moments inside a subway car during the shooting at a Brooklyn subway station

” data-duration=”02:33″ data-editable=”settings” data-headline=”‘Sounded like fireworks’: Witness describes when subway shooting started” data-index=”idx-0″ data-show-name=”” data-show-url=”” data-source=”CNN” data-uri=”archive.cms.cnn.com/_components/video-resource/instances/h_befc2562603738ef1d7f681d838ce9e0-h_43ea9a864605c1c9aec884000714cf1d-pageTop@published” data-video-id=”us/2022/04/12/subway-shooting-witness-brooklyn-new-york-vpx.cnn” data-video-instance=”archive.cms.cnn.com/_components/video-resource/instances/h_befc2562603738ef1d7f681d838ce9e0-h_43ea9a864605c1c9aec884000714cf1d-pageTop@published”>

People look out at the scene of a shooting at a subway station in the Brooklyn borough of New York City, New York, U.S., April 12, 2022.

Now playing

‘Sounded like fireworks’: Witness describes when subway shooting started

CNN’s Clarissa Ward gives an update on an 86-year-old woman who had been trapped in Ukraine but was able to evacuate after an outpouring of support.

” data-duration=”03:42″ data-editable=”settings” data-headline=”86-year-old woman rescued in Ukraine after outpouring of support” data-index=”idx-1″ data-show-name=”Anderson Cooper 360″ data-show-url=”https://www.cnn.com/shows/ac-360″ data-source=”CNN” data-uri=”archive.cms.cnn.com/_components/video-resource/instances/h_1dce615d801fdb994368028553e4a76f” data-video-id=”world/2022/04/16/ukraine-woman-evacuated-ward-ac360-vpx.cnn” data-video-instance=”archive.cms.cnn.com/_components/video-resource/instances/h_1dce615d801fdb994368028553e4a76f”>

Now playing

86-year-old woman rescued in Ukraine after outpouring of support

CNN’s Jake Tapper sits down for an exclusive interview with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the presidential palace in Kyiv. Watch the full interview on Sunday at 9am ET on ‘State of the Union.’

” data-duration=”01:46″ data-editable=”settings” data-headline=”Zelensky weighs in on whether Putin could use nuclear weapons” data-index=”idx-2″ data-show-name=”AT THIS HOUR” data-show-url=”https://www.cnn.com/shows/at-this-hour” data-source=”CNN” data-uri=”archive.cms.cnn.com/_components/video-resource/instances/h_f92aff7a07f343cedea5581bd7242160″ data-video-id=”world/2022/04/15/ukrainian-president-volodymyr-zelensky-jake-tapper-interview-ath-vpx.cnn” data-video-instance=”archive.cms.cnn.com/_components/video-resource/instances/h_f92aff7a07f343cedea5581bd7242160″>

CNN

Now playing

Zelensky weighs in on whether Putin could use nuclear weapons

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) signed a bill that bans abortions performed after 15 weeks without exceptions for rape, incest or human trafficking. CNN’s Nadia Romero reports on several abortion restrictions that have recently been implemented.

” data-duration=”02:48″ data-editable=”settings” data-headline=”DeSantis signs 15-week abortion ban” data-index=”idx-3″ data-show-name=”” data-show-url=”” data-source=”CNN” data-uri=”archive.cms.cnn.com/_components/video-resource/instances/h_43c2fbf291b08603d432100989649bed” data-video-id=”politics/2022/04/16/desantis-abortion-ban-romero-vpx.cnn” data-video-instance=”archive.cms.cnn.com/_components/video-resource/instances/h_43c2fbf291b08603d432100989649bed”>

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis holds up a 15-week abortion ban law after signing it, Thursday, April 14, 2022, in Kissimmee, Fla. The move comes amid a growing conservative push to restrict abortion ahead of a U.S. Supreme Court decision that could limit access to the procedure nationwide. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Now playing

DeSantis signs 15-week abortion ban

CNN’s Michael Smerconish discusses former President Trump’s endorsement of Senate candidate Dr. Mehmet Oz with reporter Salena Zito.

” data-duration=”02:24″ data-editable=”settings” data-headline=”Trump’s move perplexes his own supporters, new report says” data-index=”idx-4″ data-show-name=”Smerconish” data-show-url=”https://www.cnn.com/shows/smerconish” data-source=”CNN” data-uri=”archive.cms.cnn.com/_components/video-resource/instances/h_6e312d6db9f20343503aa170b9f0ed21″ data-video-id=”politics/2022/04/16/trump-endorsement-mehmet-oz-pennsylvania-smerc-vpx.cnn” data-video-instance=”archive.cms.cnn.com/_components/video-resource/instances/h_6e312d6db9f20343503aa170b9f0ed21″>

Getty Images

Now playing

Trump’s move perplexes his own supporters, new report says

CNN’s Harry Enten discusses the latest approval polling for President Biden, which shows him at an all-time low.

” data-duration=”01:29″ data-editable=”settings” data-headline=”New polls reveal how Biden compares to Trump” data-index=”idx-5″ data-show-name=”New Day” data-show-url=”https://www.cnn.com/shows/new-day” data-source=”CNN” data-uri=”archive.cms.cnn.com/_components/video-resource/instances/h_9e3b857df0d64ebaa61dfb56232c4c17″ data-video-id=”politics/2022/04/16/biden-approval-poll-trump-enten-newyday-vpx.cnn” data-video-instance=”archive.cms.cnn.com/_components/video-resource/instances/h_9e3b857df0d64ebaa61dfb56232c4c17″>

President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump

Now playing

New polls reveal how Biden compares to Trump

A commentator on Russian state TV called for the bombing of Kyiv after the sinking of the Moskva, a major Russian warship.

” data-duration=”02:21″ data-editable=”settings” data-headline=”See reaction on Russian state TV after major ship sunk” data-index=”idx-6″ data-show-name=”Anderson Cooper 360″ data-show-url=”https://www.cnn.com/shows/ac-360″ data-source=”CNN” data-uri=”archive.cms.cnn.com/_components/video-resource/instances/h_506f030264db06bfb11c2ef51a16044a” data-video-id=”business/2022/04/16/moskva-ship-russia-state-tv-ac360-vpx.cnn” data-video-instance=”archive.cms.cnn.com/_components/video-resource/instances/h_506f030264db06bfb11c2ef51a16044a”>

Russian state TV

Now playing

See reaction on Russian state TV after major ship sunk

A new report in the San Francisco Chronicle cites several anonymous sources that question whether Sen. Dianne Feinstein is mentally fit to serve.

” data-duration=”07:19″ data-editable=”settings” data-headline=”Colleagues worry senator is no longer mentally fit to serve, report says” data-index=”idx-7″ data-show-name=”Smerconish” data-show-url=”https://www.cnn.com/shows/smerconish” data-source=”CNN” data-uri=”archive.cms.cnn.com/_components/video-resource/instances/h_d194ec89cd5b84cbcc3e8dd02030776e” data-video-id=”politics/2022/04/16/colleagues-worry-sen-feinstein-no-longer-mentally-fit-to-serve.cnn” data-video-instance=”archive.cms.cnn.com/_components/video-resource/instances/h_d194ec89cd5b84cbcc3e8dd02030776e”>

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-CA, speaks during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing to examine the American Jobs Plan, focusing on infrastructure, climate change, and investing in our nations future on April 20, 2021 in Washington, DC. Members of President Biden's cabinet are testifying about the American Jobs Plan, the administration's $2.3 trillion infrastructure plan that has yet to win over a single Republican in Congress.

Now playing

Colleagues worry senator is no longer mentally fit to serve, report says

Elon Musk’s interest in acquiring Twitter has been heralded on the right and greeted with trepidation on the left. CNN’s Michael Smerconish says Musk’s past words and actions suggest he’s neither a socialist nor a conservative – but a centrist.

” data-duration=”06:48″ data-editable=”settings” data-headline=”Smerconish has a message for conservatives rallying behind Elon Musk” data-index=”idx-8″ data-show-name=”Smerconish” data-show-url=”https://www.cnn.com/shows/smerconish” data-source=”CNN” data-uri=”archive.cms.cnn.com/_components/video-resource/instances/h_06055eda1ae0b364e2fe2414ada3c43e” data-video-id=”business/2022/04/16/what-are-elon-musks-politics.cnn” data-video-instance=”archive.cms.cnn.com/_components/video-resource/instances/h_06055eda1ae0b364e2fe2414ada3c43e”>

Tesla chief Elon Musk waving onstage at the TED2022: A New Era conference in Vancouver, Canada, April 14, 2022.

Now playing

Smerconish has a message for conservatives rallying behind Elon Musk

Some residents in Shanghai were allowed to step outside after weeks in lockdown due to a Covid-19 outbreak. CNN’s David Culver is part of the only American TV crew living through the lockdown.

” data-duration=”02:52″ data-editable=”settings” data-headline=”A few steps of freedom in Shanghai after weeks of lockdown” data-index=”idx-9″ data-show-name=”Erin Burnett Out Front” data-show-url=”https://www.cnn.com/shows/erin-burnett-out-front” data-source=”CNN” data-uri=”archive.cms.cnn.com/_components/video-resource/instances/h_dc8120bb03e17dc4747e500fc7b88a8e” data-video-id=”health/2022/04/15/shanghai-lockdown-first-steps-freedom-culver-dnt-ebof-vpx.cnn” data-video-instance=”archive.cms.cnn.com/_components/video-resource/instances/h_dc8120bb03e17dc4747e500fc7b88a8e”>

Now playing

A few steps of freedom in Shanghai after weeks of lockdown

CNN’s Ed Lavandera reports.

” data-duration=”03:32″ data-editable=”settings” data-headline=”CNN visits a Ukrainian coastal city where residents fear retaliation after the sinking of a Russian warship” data-index=”idx-10″ data-show-name=”The Lead” data-show-url=”https://www.cnn.com/shows/the-lead” data-source=”CNN” data-uri=”archive.cms.cnn.com/_components/video-resource/instances/h_b05d0a372909bc079f250d1b95421897″ data-video-id=”tv/2022/04/15/tl-4p-lavandera–jake-tapper-live.cnn” data-video-instance=”archive.cms.cnn.com/_components/video-resource/instances/h_b05d0a372909bc079f250d1b95421897″>

TL 4p/ Lavandera + Jake Tapper LIVE_00005101.png

Now playing

CNN visits a Ukrainian coastal city where residents fear retaliation after the sinking of a Russian warship

Germany has seized what is believed to be the world’s largest yacht, worth over $700 million, allegedly belonging to the sister of a sanctioned ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. CNN’s Matt Egan details assets targeted by countries across Europe.

” data-duration=”04:12″ data-editable=”settings” data-headline=”Germany seizes world’s largest yacht tied to family of Russian oligarch” data-index=”idx-11″ data-show-name=”Newsroom” data-show-url=”https://www.cnn.com/shows/newsroom” data-source=”CNNBusiness” data-uri=”archive.cms.cnn.com/_components/video-resource/instances/h_3aa2a8567d885d1481883037c066b14b” data-video-id=”business/2022/04/15/europe-seizes-yacht-russian-oligarch-putin-circle-egan-sot-newsroom-vpx.cnnbusiness” data-video-instance=”archive.cms.cnn.com/_components/video-resource/instances/h_3aa2a8567d885d1481883037c066b14b”>

Klaus Jordan

Now playing

Germany seizes world’s largest yacht tied to family of Russian oligarch

A man was arrested after allegedly running over a woman from his SUV. Surveillance footage caught the chase before impact on video. cnn.it/3vm9z0X

” data-duration=”00:41″ data-editable=”settings” data-headline=”Caught on cam: Video shows car chase a pedestrian in road rage incident” data-index=”idx-12″ data-show-name=”Morning Express with Robin Meade” data-show-url=”https://www.cnn.com/shows/morning-express” data-source=”HLN” data-uri=”archive.cms.cnn.com/_components/video-resource/instances/h_52c35701d3ff259c95563d81aaadf585″ data-video-id=”us/2022/04/15/road-rage-chase-video-woman-run-over-mxp-hln-vpx.hln” data-video-instance=”archive.cms.cnn.com/_components/video-resource/instances/h_52c35701d3ff259c95563d81aaadf585″>

Isaac B.

Now playing

Caught on cam: Video shows car chase a pedestrian in road rage incident

In an interview with CNN’s Erin Burnett, acting hospital director Dr. Mykhailenko talks about leaving the Mariupol hospital right before the maternity ward was hit by a Russian airstrike.

” data-duration=”03:25″ data-editable=”settings” data-headline=”Doctor escaped Mariupol maternity ward 15 minutes before bombing” data-index=”idx-13″ data-show-name=”Erin Burnett Out Front” data-show-url=”https://www.cnn.com/shows/erin-burnett-out-front” data-source=”CNN” data-uri=”archive.cms.cnn.com/_components/video-resource/instances/h_08491615a563d0a85e6e87cfa41bcd58″ data-video-id=”world/2022/04/16/dr-mykhailenko-mariupol-hospital-russia-airstrike-sot-ebof-vpx.cnn” data-video-instance=”archive.cms.cnn.com/_components/video-resource/instances/h_08491615a563d0a85e6e87cfa41bcd58″>

CNN

Now playing

Doctor escaped Mariupol maternity ward 15 minutes before bombing

CNN’s Gloria Borger explains why the United Nations is not able to do more to stop the atrocities committed in Russia’s war on Ukraine.

” data-duration=”03:54″ data-editable=”settings” data-headline=”‘Paralyzed’: UN criticized for inability to mitigate war in Ukraine” data-index=”idx-14″ data-show-name=”Situation Room” data-show-url=”https://www.cnn.com/shows/situation-room” data-source=”CNN” data-uri=”archive.cms.cnn.com/_components/video-resource/instances/h_6e6fe2a77f638d4dda380c58b11005f9″ data-video-id=”politics/2022/04/15/united-nations-ukraine-russia-borger-pkg-tsr-vpx.cnn” data-video-instance=”archive.cms.cnn.com/_components/video-resource/instances/h_6e6fe2a77f638d4dda380c58b11005f9″>

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks via remote feed during a meeting of the UN Security Council, Tuesday, April 5, 2022, at United Nations headquarters. Zelenskyy will address the U.N. Security Council for the first time Tuesday at a meeting that is certain to focus on what appear to be widespread deliberate killings of civilians by Russian troops. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

Now playing

‘Paralyzed’: UN criticized for inability to mitigate war in Ukraine

In a game of “cat and mouse,” protestors projected the Ukrainian flag onto the Russian embassy’s building in Washington, DC. The embassy responded by attempting to wash out the flag’s image with a floodlight.

” data-duration=”00:33″ data-editable=”settings” data-headline=”See what happened when protester projected Ukraine’s flag on Russian embassy” data-index=”idx-15″ data-show-name=”Morning Express with Robin Meade” data-show-url=”https://www.cnn.com/shows/morning-express” data-source=”HLN” data-uri=”archive.cms.cnn.com/_components/video-resource/instances/h_fd310fd3afd7b18937d33f83dda399e5″ data-video-id=”us/2022/04/15/embassy-flag-floodlight-protest-ukraine-russia-mxp-hln-vpx.hln” data-video-instance=”archive.cms.cnn.com/_components/video-resource/instances/h_fd310fd3afd7b18937d33f83dda399e5″>

Joseph Landavaso

Now playing

See what happened when protester projected Ukraine’s flag on Russian embassy

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) and Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) warned former President Donald Trump’s Chief of Staff Mark Meadows about overturning the election without evidence, new text messages reveal.

” data-duration=”03:45″ data-editable=”settings” data-headline=”See texts GOP lawmakers sent Meadows about overturning election” data-index=”idx-16″ data-show-name=”New Day” data-show-url=”https://www.cnn.com/shows/new-day” data-source=”CNN” data-uri=”archive.cms.cnn.com/_components/video-resource/instances/h_17ffc9ccfde59f2b336775a569b4eb33″ data-video-id=”politics/2022/04/15/january-6-texts-donald-trump-mark-meadows-mike-lee-chip-roy-nobles-newday-vpx.cnn” data-video-instance=”archive.cms.cnn.com/_components/video-resource/instances/h_17ffc9ccfde59f2b336775a569b4eb33″>

Now playing

See texts GOP lawmakers sent Meadows about overturning election

Brooklyn, New York CNN —

John Acevedo woke up to a commotion outside.

Not so strange for a New Yorker, perhaps, but unheard of in his neighborhood of Sunset Park, Brooklyn, far off the tourist path. The 20-year-old could make out the sounds of sirens on the street, helicopters overhead. When he stepped outside his front door, he found himself in the middle of chaos.

Acevedo lives across the street from the 36th Street subway station where, just hours earlier, a gunman opened two smoke grenades and fired at least 33 shots at commuters, striking 10 people.

“It’s really surreal for us,” Acevedo told CNN of his neighborhood in the southwest part of Brooklyn. “This whole neighborhood, it’s a community, crime isn’t what you expect here. I’m speechless.”

In the aftermath, neighbors held each others’ hands across the fences that separate their homes. Others sat in shock on their stoops. This kind of violence is something the more than 135,000 residents of this tightknit community – about a third of whom are Asian and a third Hispanic, according to US Census data – are used to hearing about in other neighborhoods. Not here, not so close to their haven where they call everyone “family.”

Like Acevedo, Nicholas Sciammarella and his partner, Anthony Valentino, realized something was amiss as the sound of sirens flooded their home during breakfast.

The couple live a block away from the station, and Valentino went out to see what was happening there.

“I saw two people holding up a man who was all bloodied, blood all over his hands, and he was in shock, walking like a zombie before sitting to the floor,” Valentino said. He stayed, offering water, phone calls and help to those leaving the station.

Sciammarella said they also called down their list of neighbors, “checking one by one and making sure everyone is OK.”

Nicholas Sciammarella, left, and Anthony Valentino, residents of Sunset Park

At the L&E Deli Grocery, just two blocks from the station, manager Elia Tapia, 38, was processing it all. She has lived in Sunset Park for 20 years.

“Never in my life could I have thought this would happen to our home,” she said. “This is a huge surprise for us, this neighborhood is so nice and quiet, nothing happens. We are a family here, we all know and take care of each other.”

Ask a Sunset Park local to describe their neighborhood, and they’ll likely tell you it’s a calm, friendly place, the type of neighborhood to raise a family in. The neighborhood has emerged as part of Brooklyn’s Chinatown, thanks to a growing population of immigrants from China’s Fujian province.

It’s only a short subway ride from Manhattan but still far enough to feel like a different city altogether. Situated on the waterfront, Sunset Park offers green space and views of New York Harbor, the Statue of Liberty and even New Jersey, on a clear day.

Tapia has lost that feeling of safety she had always adored about her neighborhood.

“I used to be able to walk here, late at night, 2 in the morning to the train, but now I could never,” she told CNN. “We can feel the difference (in violence) in the city, but still we could have never expected this to happen to us.”

Members of the New York Police Department are seen patrolling the streets after the mass shooting.

The shooting at 36th Street subway station comes amid a surge in violence across New York City. More than 360 people have been shot this year in 322 shooting incidents, according to figures released by the New York Police Department on Sunday. That’s an 8.4% increase in shooting incidents over this time last year.

General crime on the transit system has spiked even more – 68% over last year, the NYPD reports.

Crime in the 72nd Precinct, which includes Sunset Park, has rapidly risen as well, NYPD data shows.

Overall crime is up more than 103% so far this year through Sunday compared to this time in 2021 and up 70% from 2020, with the highest increases seen in burglary, grand larceny and auto theft. There had been one shooting incident in the precinct this year as of Sunday, the same number as this time last year.

For Lilea Ng, too, Tuesday felt like her home was under attack, she told CNN. A Chinese American born in Panama, Ng moved to the city 20 years ago, eager to find the American dream.

Now, that dream is turning into a nightmare, she said.

Even before Tuesday’s violence, Ng avoided riding the subway or any public transportation, she said, noting the rising violence towards Asian Americans during the pandemic.

“I’ve never felt this unsafe before,” Ng said. “Even after 9/11 I felt safe. But the feeling I have now, it’s different. I’m never on the subway or any public transportation anymore.”

Leaving New York was never on the table before – but now, the thought lingers in the back of her mind.