Neighbor Leonard Phillips Shot And Killed At 379 Rugby Road

Updated 3:22pm: Police have identified the victim as Leonard Phillips, 69, who lived in the house. According to neighbors, Leonard’s sister was the  71-year-old woman who was first approached and tied up during the invasion. There is no additional information at this time, but we will continue to update as we learn more.

Updated 2:14pm: We have learned from neighbors and police that the home invaders approached a 71-year-old woman, who we’ve been told is the owner of the home at 379 Rugby Road, while she was on her porch this morning, tied her up and demanded money. They then proceeded to shoot the 69-year-old man in the head on the third floor of the house, according to the police. He was rushed to Kings County Hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival, according to the NYPD.

The woman was not harmed during the invasion, according to police.

If you knew Leonard Phillips and would like to send in their remembrances of him, you can email us at editor@ditmasparkcorner.com and we’ll share them.

“It’s really scary; my son goes to PS 139 and all the parents got phone calls telling them the school was on lockdown,” one neighbor said of the school that is essentially across the street from 379 Rugby. “I ran over here immediately. All the parents are really worried. There are kids out here all the time.”

PS 139 was on lockdown until 2:30pm, when school let out.

Ed Powell, the president of the 70th Precinct Community Council, too has a daughter at PS 139 and was at the scene of the crime this afternoon.

“I know the 70th Precinct is doing everything possible to apprehend those who did this,” he added. So far, police said they have not arrested anyone.

Councilman Mathieu Eugene, who was with Powell at the scene, said he would work with the family and ensure they are able to access resources for crime victims. Additionally, he said he wants to work with neighbors and Cortelyou Road merchants to start a civilian patrol in the area.

“This is a calling – we should say, ‘hey, something should be done,'” Eugene said. “We should work together on a civilian patrol; I’m willing to put aside a budget for that… We shouldn’t wait for another tragedy to happen before we do something.”

“Cortelyou Road is booming,” the legislator continued. “People are investing in this road, in this neighborhood. This is not something we could expect.”

Again, all of us at Ditmas Park Corner are sending all our thoughts to the family.

Updated 12:24pm: We have confirmed with the police that a 69-year-old man at 379 Rugby Road was shot in the head and killed during a home invasion at 10:47am this morning. According to the police, he was shot on the third floor of the home.

The police told us that three men were involved in the home invasion. They are still looking for all three. One man was wearing a white sweatshirt with a green stripe, the second suspect was wearing a black hoodie, and they didn’t have identifying information about the third man. The first two individuals fled southbound, while the third fled northbound, according to police.

Updated 12pm: We have terrible news. We just spoke to neighbors in the area, and they said that three men entered the house next to the bodega at Cortelyou Road and Rugby Road, where an elderly woman and her brother lived, among others The neighbors said the three men tied up the woman and shot and killed the man. We’ve reached out to the NYPD for confirmation of this and for more information.

We’ve also been informed that PS 139 is on lockdown and that all parents received a robo call about the incident.

Our thoughts go out to the victims and to their families.

Original post: Police said a man was just shot at 379 Rugby Road (between Cortelyou Road and Dorchester Road), and they are now searching the area for the suspects (which, if you hear helicopters above, that’s likely what they’re for).

When we spoke to the FDNY, they said the call came in at 10:47am, and they transported the victim to Kings County Hospital, though the FDNY nor the NYPD had information on his condition.

Once we get any more information, we’ll let you know. And if you know anything more, you can comment below or email us at editor@ditmasparkcorner.com.