26-Year-Old Fatally Shot Outside Gowanus Houses, Police Say

GOWANUS, NY — A 26-year-old man was fatally shot outside of the Gowanus Houses Monday evening, police said.

Authorities responded to a 911 call of a man shot outside of 187 Hoyt Street just before 5 p.m. on Sept. 17. Officers discovered Kenneth Ballou lying on the ground outside of the NYCHA complex with multiple gunshot wounds to the torso, officials said.

The Gowanus Houses resident was rushed to Methodist Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The apartment complex has a history of violence and is home to members of the Gowanus-based "Oww-Oww" crew, which is in an ongoing feud with another gang in Red Hook, officials have said.

Last October 19-year-old Ramon Ortiz, who was a member of the Oww-Oww gang, was shot to death outside the Gowanus Houses. A day later, police cuffed two suspects connected to the fatal shooting, which authorities said was likely retaliation by a rival gang over a robbery.

It was not immediately clear if Monday's shooting was gang related, a police spokeswoman said. An investigation is ongoing.

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