Seven alleged members of the Bronx street gang Courtlandt Over Everything have been indicted after “terrorizing” the neighborhood in a series of broad daylight shootings that wounded two innocent bystanders in an attempt to get revenge on a rival gang, the Bronx district attorney’s office said.
Between July 22 and Oct. 8, 2024, 18-year-old Ibrahim Kaba, nicknamed “Mullet,” 21-year-old Chalim Perry, nicknamed “Sha EK,” 18-year-old Elijah Santiago, nicknamed “Eli Drako,” and three others whose names are not being released because they were minors at the times of the crimes were involved in four shootings around the Mott Haven and Melrose neighborhoods, wounding two civilians and shooting their intended target in the buttocks — incidents they later rapped about in “drill rap” videos which they posted online, the Bronx DA’s office said Friday.
“These defendants put the lives of countless people at risk in senseless episodes of gunfire all in broad daylight,” Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark said in a statement. “In retaliation for a fatal shooting, they allegedly shot two innocent bystanders as well as their target. They allegedly engaged in a shootout outside a school as children were dismissed. They put the entire community in danger, and they will be held accountable for their actions.”
Another alleged gang member, 18-year-old Zaire Flowers, who is known as “ZAZA,” is still on the loose.
The shootings were in retaliation for the fatal shooting of the father of a Courtlandt Over Everything member by a rival gang, according to the Bronx DA.
On July 22 at around 3:30 p.m., Perry, Williams, Flowers and an unnamed 16-year-old went to the Patterson Houses on E. 145th St. and fired at least nine shots, striking two bystanders—a 67-year old man who was hit in the leg and a 30-year-old NYCHA worker who was hit in the arm.
Their intended target, an 18-year-old rival gang member, was shot in the buttocks, the press release said.
Police recovered nine shell casings and one live round from the scene, as well as a bullet fragment lodged in an MTA bus that was traveling on Third Ave. and E. 145th St.
About 30 minutes later, Kaba and Flowers went to another NYCHA complex, Melrose Houses on E. 156th St. and released a hail of bullets that sent elderly bystanders fleeing for their lives, according to the D.A.
Afterwards, Perry made a drill rap video in which he explicitly referenced the shooting, and posted it to his social media account, the D.A. claimed.
Months later, on the morning of Oct. 7, Kaba fired several shots at a man on a motorcycle, who then crashed into a parked car near the intersection of Courtlandt Ave. and E. 153rd St. and ran off while Kaba continued to shoot at him, according to court documents.
The next day shortly after 4 p.m. Santiago and an unnamed 17-year-old engaged in a shootout with a rival gang member outside Port Morris School of Community Leadership PS/MS 5X on E. 149th St. as students exited the school, sending them running for cover.
After the last shooting in front of the school, Perry, Santiago and the 17-year-old made another drill rap video about the shootings and posted it on YouTube and Instagram under their respective nicknames, “Sha EK” and “Eli Drako,” according to the court documents.
Perry continued to make and post drill rap videos referencing the shootings over the next several months, including one titled “Less Than 24hrs (Official Video)” in which he “bragged about shooting rivals, threatened to harm members of rival gangs and promised to give a gold chain to the first member of Courtlandt to commit a murder,” according to the statement from the DA.
The indictment demonstrates the critical work that the NYPD does every day to stop violent gangs that terrorize our communities,” Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in a statement. “I commend the NYPD investigators and our law enforcement partners for their tireless work to get these dangerous individuals off of our streets and bring them to justice.”
They are charged with conspiracy, attempted murder and assault, among other charges.
