Judge Rules Three Separate Trials for Five Suspects in Brooklyn Day Mass Shooting

There will be three separate trials for the five defendants facing charges related to the Brooklyn Day mass shooting, following a ruling by the judge on Thursday.

The judge partially granted and denied the prosecution’s motion to try all five together, instead splitting them into groups of 2-2-1 for the trials.

Tristan Jackson, 18, and Aaron Brown, 19, will stand trial together. They are the two adults charged in the case and both face several counts including attempted first and second-degree murder.

In a second trial will be a 16-year-old and a 15-year-old defendant.

The fifth defendant, whose age was not specified, will be tried alone in the third trial.

Prosecutors had filed a motion last October seeking to consolidate all five defendants into one joint trial for charges stemming from the mass shooting incident.

A supplemental prosecution motion provided the clearest public account yet of the allegations against Jackson, Brown and the three younger accused individuals.

Though all five defendants are being charged as adults, the split trial decision acknowledges differences in their ages and alleged roles.

The multiple trials allow the court to weigh evidence separately against the three groups, rather than considering all testimony and arguments together in one proceeding.