10 people are wounded in a shooting at a memorial for a teenager who was killed in NYC

NEW YORK (AP) — Ten people were wounded in a shooting Wednesday night outside a nightclub in New York City that was holding a memorial for a teenager who had been previously been killed in the city.

Police said three or four men fired about 30 shots at a crowd of people who were standing outside Amazura Concert Hall in Jamaica, Queens, for the private event before running to a car and driving off.

Six females and four males between the ages of 16 and 20 were taken to hospitals but are expected to recover, police said.

Queens Borough President Donovan Richards said the club was holding a small private event to celebrate the life of a teen who had been killed in Brooklyn late last year.

“They just wanted to cause destruction,” he said of the shooters.

In a statement on social media, Gov. Kathy Hochul said “a memorial for a teen lost to gun violence turned to horror when gunmen opened fire on the crowd.”

“This cannot be our normal,” Hochul wrote.

Police have not yet announced any arrests.

Images from outside the club after the shooting show debris strewn across the sidewalk and police gathering evidence and taking photographs. Nearby residents described quick bursts of gunfire along with screaming.

“It was bam, bam, bam, bam,” Maria Lopez told The New York Times. “I thought it was fireworks. I was saying to myself, it’s too late in the evening for this, too late for it to be New Year’s celebrations.”

About 90 people were inside the club while a smaller group of about 15 were standing outside, police said.

“It lasted about 10 seconds and then there was silence,” neighborhood resident Juan Alulema told the New York Post. “I saw people screaming.”

Amazura Concert Hall urged the public to contact police with any information about the shooting.

“We are deeply saddened by the recent and unfortunate isolated incident that occurred," the venue said in an Instagram post. “Our hearts go out to all those affected by this senseless act.”

Members of the media work in front of the nightclub Amazura, left, in the Queens borough of New York, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Members of the media work in front of the nightclub Amazura, left, in the Queens borough of New York, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Members of the media work in front of the nightclub Amazura, left, in the Queens borough of New York, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Members of the media work in front of the nightclub Amazura, left, in the Queens borough of New York, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Members of the media work in front of the nightclub Amazura in the Queens borough of New York, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Members of the media work in front of the nightclub Amazura, left, in the Queens borough of New York, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

In this grab taken from a video provided by the New York Police Department, Chief of Patrol Philip Rivera, centre, speaks to the media during a press conference in New York, early Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, the day after a shooting outside a nightclub in Queens. (NYPD via AP)

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo González, who the United States recognized as the winner of last year's presidential election, kicked off a tour of Latin America on Saturday, just days before President Nicolás Maduro is set to be sworn in for a third term in defiance of international pressure.

A crowd of a few hundred Venezuelan migrants broke into shouts of “Edmundo, Presidente” as González emerged from a meeting with Argentine President Javier Milei to wave to supporters from the balcony of the iconic Casa Rosada, or Pink House, in Buenos Aires.

“We are doing whatever the cause of freedom requires,” Milei, an effusive far-right supporter of the Venezuelan opposition, said as he welcomed González to the presidential palace with honors normally reserved for a head of state.

González, a retired diplomat, fled into exile in Spain in September after a judge issued an arrest warrant following the July 28 presidential election, in which Maduro was declared the winner by the National Electoral Council, which is stacked with governing party loyalists.

In recent weeks, he has been vowing to travel to Venezuela to be sworn in for the presidential term, which according to law must begin on Jan. 10. But he hasn't said how he plans to return or wrest power from Maduro, whose party controls all institutions and the military.

On Thursday, Maduro’s government raised the stakes even further, announcing a $100,000 reward for information on González’s whereabouts and plastering the wanted-like bulletin with the retired diplomat's photo on social media and the arrivals board at the country's main airport.

Upon arrival to the Argentine capital, where he twice served as Venezuela’s ambassador more than two decades ago, González posted on social media a short video message expressing solidarity with those imprisoned in Venezuela as part of a crackdown by Maduro.

He said that he would raise with Milei concerns about the well-being of five Maduro opponents who have been sheltering in the Argentine ambassador’s residence in Caracas for nearly 10 months — a diplomatic standoff that has embittered relations between Venezuela and Argentina.

The Biden administration and most European governments have rejected the election's official results, pointing out that authorities didn't provide detailed results as they have in past elections. Meanwhile, copies of tally sheets collected by the opposition from 85% of the nation’s electronic voting machines show that González prevailed by a more than two-to-one margin.

González, 75, was a previously unknown career diplomat when he was thrust into rallying the anti-Maduro coalition as a last-minute stand-in for opposition stalwart María Corina Machado, whom the government banned from running for office.

After speaking with Milei on Saturday, González is scheduled to cross the Rio de la Plata for a meeting with Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou.

A wanted sign of Venezuelan opposition leader Edmundo Gonzalez is displayed on the list of departure flights at the Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maiquetia, near Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez)