22-Year-Old Shot Dead Steps From His Crown Heights Apartment: PD

CROWN HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN — A 22-year-old was fatally shot in Crown Heights on Wednesday just steps from his apartment, police said.

Armani Hamilton was found with two gunshot wounds to his torso in front of 1919 Pacific St. just before 6 p.m., police said. He was pronounced dead at Kings County Hospital.

Hamilton was just a short walk from his apartment on the 3rd Walk of the Kingsborough Houses, records show. His family told the Daily News Hamilton had just stepped out to go to the store for them when they heard the shots.

The 22-year-old's death is at least the third deadly shooting in the neighborhood in the last week as the officials face a citywide spike in gun violence.

Most recently in Crown Heights, a 23-year-old man was fatally shot after a dispute near a bike shop and a 30-year-old was killed when a shooter opened fire in his car. Police believe the shooting that killed the 30-year-old had spilled over from a shooting from earlier that day on President Street, where at least four people were hurt.

In the past few days, activists have held a "Cease Fire Peace Walk" and "Stop the Violence Town Hall" in Bed-Stuy hoping to address the shooting surge in the area.

Citywide, shootings have spiked 200 percent in the last few weeks, compared to the same time period last year. North Brooklyn has been a particular hot-spot for the gun violence, seeing 82 shootings in the last 28 days compared to just 13 during the same period in 2019, according to NYPD data.