Brooklyn DA Opens Criminal Investigation Into Deadly Flatbush Building Collapse as All Eight Victims Are Named

admin · November 13, 2026 · 6 min read

Firefighters search the rubble of a collapsed brick building beside a deep excavation pit in Brooklyn's Flatbush neighborhood

Brooklyn DA Opens Criminal Investigation Into Deadly Flatbush Building Collapse as All Eight Victims Are Named

The Brooklyn district attorney has opened a criminal investigation into the collapse of a three-story building in Brooklyn’s Flatbush neighborhood that killed eight people, including two children, as police on Thursday night released the names of all eight victims and the city began inspecting about 100 construction sites linked to the project.

District Attorney Eric Gonzalez is examining whether criminal conduct contributed to the collapse, The New York Times reported on Friday. Prosecutors are working with the city’s Department of Investigation and the Department of Buildings. No charges have been filed, and an investigation is not a finding of wrongdoing.

All Eight Victims Identified

Police identified the eight people killed as Nicole Daniela Salvada Rodriguez, 9, and her 10-year-old cousin Kevin Santiago Reyes Gonzalez; Juan Daniel Salvada Guzman, 31; Ndiaye Mamadou, 31; Barry Mamadou, 23; Gabriel Siguencia, 22; Edgar Sapon, 26; and Jose Luis Caguana Cosquillo, 26. Two of the dead were construction workers.

Six victims died at the scene and two others died after being taken to a hospital, Mayor Zohran Mamdani said at a Thursday briefing. Eighteen people were injured, including four firefighters, and at least four of the injured remained in critical condition.

The victims came from Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador and Trinidad, the mayor said, and the two children were Colombian, according to the country’s consulate in New York. An in-home surveillance camera captured two children being swept up in the wreckage, officials said.

What Happened at 1321 Flatbush Avenue

The building at 1321 Flatbush Avenue, a three-story mixed-use structure dating from 1930 with four residential units, collapsed at about 4 p.m. on Wednesday, November 11, falling into an open excavation pit at the construction site next door at 2625 Bedford Avenue.

More than 250 firefighters and emergency workers were deployed to the site. The Fire Department of New York ended rescue and recovery operations at 3:37 p.m. on Thursday, about 24 hours after the collapse, after determining there were no more victims. The site was then turned over to the Department of Buildings and the New York Police Department.

The Cause Is Still Under Investigation

Investigators have not determined what caused the collapse. The Department of Buildings initially said in a written notice that unsafe construction operations at the adjacent site caused the building to fall, then retracted that finding as premature.

Buildings Commissioner Ahmed Tigani said investigators would examine photographs, video and accounts from people who witnessed the collapse or had relevant knowledge. The department issued a full stop-work order at the neighboring construction site, where crews had been excavating for a proposed three-story building. City records show the site’s owner of record, W6 Facility X LLC, received permits on September 9 for foundation and earthwork and for support of excavation, the shoring that holds back soil along a pit’s edge. Tigani has said a three-story plan was approved and a nine-story plan was not.

Housing records list 98 open violations at the collapsed building, 61 of them classed as hazardous or immediately hazardous, though many date back decades. Vacate orders now cover three neighboring buildings.

Why This Matters

The collapse has become a test of how New York polices construction next to occupied homes. Under Section 3309.4 of the city’s Building Code, whoever carries out soil or foundation work must protect adjoining structures at any depth. Whether the excavation shoring failed, the design was flawed, or something else brought the building down is now a question for engineers, building inspectors and prosecutors to resolve together.

Mamdani said five entities involved in the construction site are tied to roughly 100 other sites across the city, and the Department of Buildings began sweeping all of them on Thursday. City officials have promised severe criminal penalties for any person or company found responsible.

Latest Developments

The criminal investigation is the newest turn in a case that began as a rescue operation. With the search for victims over, the focus has shifted to the cause, the safety of neighboring structures and assistance for families displaced by the disaster.

For background on the collapse itself, see our earlier report: Two Dead, 17 Injured as Brooklyn Building Collapses Into Construction Pit in Flatbush. In other major U.S. news on Friday, the FAA ordered a nationwide ground stop halting all departures after an air traffic control communications failure.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many people died in the Brooklyn building collapse?

Eight people died, including two children ages 9 and 10. Six died at the scene and two died in the hospital. Eighteen others were injured, including four firefighters.

Has anyone been charged over the collapse?

No. The Brooklyn district attorney has opened a criminal investigation, but no charges have been filed. An investigation is not a finding of wrongdoing.

What caused the building to collapse?

The cause has not been determined. The Department of Buildings first blamed unsafe construction at the adjacent excavation site, then retracted that finding as premature. Investigators are examining whether the excavation work played a role.

What is the city doing about other construction sites?

Mayor Zohran Mamdani ordered inspections at about 100 sites tied to five entities linked to the construction project, and the Department of Buildings began those inspections on Thursday.

The criminal investigation, the engineering review and the citywide site inspections will now run in parallel, and officials say it will take time before the cause of the collapse is known. Families of the victims and residents of the surrounding buildings are waiting for answers — and for the city to show that the lessons of Flatbush will be applied before the next excavation begins beside an occupied home.