4 Dead, Including 1-Year Old, In Brownsville Quadruple Murder

4 Dead, Including 1-Year Old, In Brownsville Quadruple Murder
The Riverdale Towers on Thatford Avenue in Brownsville, where the quadruple murder took place (Screenshot via Google Maps)

BROWNSVILLE – Four people are dead—including a 1-year old child—shot to death early this morning in a tragic quadruple murder that occurred in a Brownsville apartment, confirmed police.

Around 5:00 am, police officers in the 73rd precinct responded to a 911 call from the Riverdale Towers at 345 Thatford Avenue. Arriving at the scene, officers proceeded to an apartment on the 4th floor, where they discovered the bodies of three adult men and an infant girl, all deceased from gunshot wounds, said Chief Maddrey of NYPD Patrol Borough Brooklyn North.

Deputy Chief Kemper of Brooklyn North described the tragic tableau inside the 3-bedroom apartment: a 27-year old man and a 1-year old girl dead in one bedroom, a 16-year old boy dead in another, and a 57-year old man dead in the bathroom—all killed by gunshot wounds to the head. It seems all the deceased are related, either by blood or by marriage, he said.

There is no current motive in the incident, but a gun was recovered inside the apartment, said Kemper. Investigators are interviewing witnesses, family members, and reviewing video surveillance in the early hours of the tragedy.

While it isn’t clear who the shooter was, Kemper said the police are investigating the possibility that the shooter committed suicide and is one of the deceased.

Borough President Eric L. Adams took to Twitter this morning to decry the gun violence that led to the four deaths, calling the event “horrific” and America’s “latest #massshooting”—tying it in to the #studentsdemandaction hashtag and today’s walk-out rally against gun violence.

“My heart goes out to this family,” said Chief Maddrey, “And to the residents of Riverdale tower and the Brownsville community. In the nature of this business, we deal with death and tragic scenes, but when it involves an infant, it’s extremely tough.”

No identities for the deceased have been released and the investigation is ongoing. We will update this story with additional information as it becomes available.