NYPD have released horrific video showing three men being cornered in a hallway and gunned down.

The attack happened on Sunday night, at an apartment block on East 171st Street. The footage shows three men waiting in a hallway, outside an apartment; one of the men appears to hear something and walks over to the stairwell to check.

Suddenly the three men flee from the stairwell as a man walks up the stairs with a gun firing shots — but there is nowhere for the trio to go.

A second gunman then appears on the same floor in what was clearly a coordinated attack, muzzle flashing as he unloads a clip into the three victims.

The three, cornered in the dead end with nowhere to hide, scramble for their lives as the assailants fire repeatedly at them from just feet away; two try fruitlessley to open a closed door, while a third cowers on the floor and hopelessly tries to make himself as small as possible.

The second assailant backs off as if to flee, before returning to fire a final shot, making sure he hit the victim on the ground.

Both gunmen then flee the scene after the brutal 10-second attack.

Two of the men later died from their wounds, while the third remains in hospital.

NYPD Detectives Chief Rodney Harrison shared the sickening footage on Twitter on Monday, asking for public assistance in tracking the culprits down.

According to the New York Post, the youngest of the as-yet unnamed victims was just 22, and was shot multiple times. The 27-year–old was killed after being struck in the neck.

The lone survivor, who is 29, was luckily only struck in the arm.

The publication reported the city is undergoing a surge of gun crime: in the week beginning June 29 there were 74 shootings, amassing 101 victims, compared to 26 shootings and 33 victims the same period last year.

It said 18 people were murdered in New York last week — six more than the same period last year.