FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, November 3, 2023
Brooklyn Man Sentenced to 23 Years to Life in Prison for
East New York Shooting That Killed Gang Rival
Murder of Victim Shamel Boomer Sparked Retaliation by Gang Members,
Who Labeled the Violent Movement “Boomin’ for Boomer” on Social Media
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that a Brooklyn man has been sentenced to 23 years to life in prison for the shooting death of an unarmed 18-year-old man, Shamel Boomer, in East New York.
District Attorney Gonzalez said, “This murder and the violent retaliation it sparked is another example of the pervasive cycle of gang violence that is destroying too many young lives in Brooklyn. I am committed to holding accountable those responsible for shootings, and, as in this terrible instance, shooting deaths that endanger all Brooklynites.”
The District Attorney identified the defendant as Malik Bacchus, 22, of Crown Heights, Brooklyn. He was sentenced today by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Danny Chun to 23 years to life in prison. The defendant was convicted of second-degree murder, two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon and third-degree grand larceny on October 2, 2023, following a jury trial.
The District Attorney said that, according to the evidence, on July 10, 2020, the victim, Shamel Boomer, 18, of Brownsville, Brooklyn, and two friends checked into the Sunborn Hotel, located at 100 New Jersey Avenue, in East New York, Brooklyn, to play video games.
Later that day, according to the evidence, the defendant, Malik Bacchus, who had stolen a red Nissan Altima from a food delivery driver earlier that day, checked into the Sunborn Hotel with three friends. At approximately 7:20 p.m., the defendant’s friends noticed the victim, a member of the WOOO gang, waiting in the lobby of the hotel for a cab. They then alerted Bacchus, a Bergen Fam gang member, to Boomer’s presence.
Bacchus went down to the lobby where he ambushed Boomer, pulling out an illegal 9-millimeter gun and firing at the victim at close range, striking him in the shoulder. The bullet punctured both of Shamel Boomer’s lungs as well as the pulmonary trunk. He was taken to Brookdale Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The defendant fled from the hotel, according to the evidence, but was linked to the murder via video surveillance and DNA on a soda can recovered from his hotel room. He was located in Chico, California, and extradited to Brooklyn four months later.
Boomer’s murder and its celebration by gang members associated with Bergen Fam and WOOO rival CHOO sparked numerous instances of violence by WOOO members and, in turn, more violence from Bergen Fam and CHOO members.
The District Attorney thanked VCE Paralegals Sultana Wahab and Dian Fields-Veron and the KCDA Detective Investigators for their assistance on this case.
The case was prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Nicholas Ford and Senior Assistant District Attorney Jonathan Visotzky, of the District Attorney’s Violent Criminal Enterprises Bureau, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Alfred De Ingeniis, VCE Bureau Chief.
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