A gunman took aim at his target before fatally shooting him in the lobby of his relative’s Bronx apartment building Friday afternoon, police sources said.
When the 33-year-old victim stepped down from an elevator into the lobby of his mother-in-law’s building at 1690 E. 174th St. near Fteley Ave. in Soundview at 3:30 pm, his killer was waiting for him.
The two argued before the suspect drew a gun and opened fire, hitting the victim once in the heart, cops and law enforcement sources said.
The gunman fired at least two more rounds in an attempt to scare off witnesses, before fleeing the scene, the sources said.
Wounded, the father returned to the elevator and took it up to the tenth floor, where he collapsed in the hallway. Authorities believe he was attacked, the sources said.
The victim was often in the building to drop her three children off at their grandmother’s apartment after school, said a family friend who wished to remain anonymous.
It is likely that he left after leaving them with his mother-in-law when he was killed, the friend said.
Medics took the man to Jacobi Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, police said.
“He changed his life. He was a good and hard-working man who took care of his three children,” said the family friend. “He was a construction worker. He worked in demolitions ”.