In a tragic event that unfolded in a Brooklyn apartment, 16-year-old Chloe Spears was killed on April 5, 2021. The young woman lost her life alongside her mother, Rasheeda Barzey, 45, and her sister, Solei Spears, 20, in their home at the Van Dyke Houses in the Brownsville neighborhood. The person responsible for the deaths was identified as Joseph McCrimon, 46, who was the ex-boyfriend of Rasheeda Barzey.
The evening of the incident held a painful irony as it was the 9th birthday of
McCrimon and Barzey's daughter. She was present in the apartment at the time of the shootings and managed to escape physical harm by hiding in a closet, from where she bravely called 911. Family members described the relationship between McCrimon and Barzey as a tumultuous one that had spanned over two decades, though there was no official record of domestic incidents.
On that fatal night, McCrimon entered the apartment and opened fire, ending the lives of Barzey and her two daughters. Following the murders, he turned the gun on himself. His body was later discovered in a walkway near the apartment building with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Authorities recovered two firearms from the scene. The case was subsequently classified as a murder-suicide, with Joseph McCrimon being the sole perpetrator. As a result, no further suspects were sought, and no arrests were made in connection with the devastating incident.
