The community center at the Bushwick Houses, where a man was shot as resident queued to vote. — Photo by Jonathan Mena

Gunshots rang out around 5:00pm on Tuesday as voters headed to the polls at the Bushwick Houses public housing complex.

Witnesses reported that a man was shot a few feet away from a polling station at the Bushwick-Hylan Community Center as residents queued to vote in the primary election. The Center at 50 Humboldt Street was “picking up” with voter traffic when the melee started, according to Miguella Cedeno, who was on duty inside the building.

“I heard 4 or 5 shots and it was scary”, said Cedeno, an Inspector for the Board of Elections.

According to Cedeno, police from the 90th Precinct arrived within minutes of the shooting and were canvassing the area. Voters seemed unfazed by the shooting and continued to vote.

A witness told BushwickBK the man was shot in a small park inside the complex but managed to walk to Humboldt Street, where he was picked up by an ambulance. A security guard for the community center said police stormed the building after the shots were fired to be sure the shooter wasn’t inside the center.

Police presence was visible hours after the shooting and undercover cops in an unmarked vehicle patrolled the area around the shooting. The status of the victim is not yet known but residents said they saw someone being arrested after the shooting. DCPI had no information about the arrest as of press time.