27-Year-Old Neighbor Raphael Kurton Fatally Shot At Newkirk Avenue & E. 17th Street Tuesday Night

Neighbor Raphael Kurton, 27, was fatally shot at Newkirk Avenue and E. 17th Street around 9:30pm Tuesday night, the NYPD said.

Police said they found Raphael, who lived on Ocean Avenue between Newkirk and Foster Avenues, lying unconscious in front of 1710 Newkirk Avenue, an apartment building between E. 17th and E. 18th Streets, after being shot at least once in the torso. The neighbor was rushed to the Kings County Hospital, where he died during the night.

Neighbors told us they heard as many as five gunshots around 9:30pm. One woman said in the following video that she saw “kids running” and “then I heard shots.”

Neighbors also reported seeing a car with a bullet hole in the window at the intersection, though police did not give any information about the vehicle. There have been no arrests, and the investigation is ongoing, the NYPD said.

The homicide follows a series of crime in the area, including Molotov cocktails being thrown into the Newkirk Medical Plaza (1414 Newkirk Plaza) last week and a deli at 1703 Foster Avenue, by E. 17th Street, being robbed at gunpoint the week before.

Police have released this surveillance footage of the suspect in the fire bombing, and they released these photos of the suspects in the Foster Avenue deli robbery. The NYPD has yet to issue a description of the suspect from last night.

Our thoughts go out to Raphael’s family and friends.