Young Brownsville Man Shot Dead 2 Blocks From Home

Pictured: 682 Ralph Ave. Image via Google Maps

BROWNSVILLE, BROOKLYN — A 26-year-old Brownsville man who had reportedly just been released from prison last summer was shot dead Wednesday night two blocks from his home, police said.

After responding to a 911 call, police said they found Andre Lane around 11:30 p.m. with at least two bullet wounds inside an apartment at 682 Ralph Ave.

He was transported to Kings County Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said.

An NYPD spokesman said six shell casings were found in the lobby of the building and in the building's vestibule, or hallway area.

“I was upstairs in the hallway... I heard arguing and the shooting happened, five or six shots,” a resident of the building, who did not wish to give his name, told the New York Daily News. “It's a normal thing that happens now over here. I'm ready to move and get out.”

No arrests had been made as of Thursday morning, police said, and the investigation was ongoing.

The Daily News reported that Lane recently served six months at the Clinton Correctional Facility in upstate New York for grand larceny (aka, high-stakes robbery). He was reportedly released last July.

“He had just gotten a job, working on the books, and this happened,” the same neighbor told the Daily News. “He was excited about getting a new job at a deli.”

Lane's family posted on Facebook that they'd be holding a candlelight vigil in his memory at 6 p.m. Friday in the Ocean Hill neighborhood, on St. Marks Avenue between Howard and Ralph avenues.

This young man was shot dead in the NYPD's 73rd Precinct, which covers most of Brownsville. It looks like his murder could be the first of the year: According to police statistics, no homicides were reported in the precinct through June 5, compared to four during the same period in 2015.

Non-fatal shootings are also down in 2016. A total of 14 shooting incidents had left 15 victims through June 5, compared to 22 shootings with 23 victims last year.

Anyone with information on who might have killed Lane can confidentially report it via the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers website or anonymously call the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).

Los hispanohablantes pueden llamar 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).

Tips can also be text-messaged to the NYPD by texting 274637 (CRIMES), then entering TIP577.