In the early hours of a Sunday morning in Brooklyn, a cascade of violence claimed the life of 47-year-old Paul Pinkney. On August 16, 2020, at approximately 2:00 a.m., Pinkney was shot and killed at the corner of Ocean Avenue and Parkside Avenue in the Prospect Lefferts Garden neighborhood. Of Trinidadian descent, Pinkney was known to some by the nickname 'P-Funk' or the alias Jordan Michael.
His death was the second fatal shooting in the immediate area within a span of just two days, creating a palpable sense of fear and loss within the community.
The circumstances leading to Pinkney's death were particularly tragic. He had been at the location to pay his respects at a memorial for another victim of gun violence, Deshawn Reid, who had been killed in a shooting just a short distance away two days prior. Pinkney was in the act of lighting a candle for Reid when he himself was fatally wounded. This series of shootings, which also included the death of Malcolm Amede a few days later, highlighted a surge of violence that left the neighborhood reeling.
In the wake of the shootings, the community mourned the loss of multiple lives in such a short period. Rallies calling for peace were organized in an attempt to quell the violence that had so suddenly and brutally impacted the lives of a number of families.
Despite the public outcry and the series of connected homicides, information regarding any arrests or the identification of any suspects in the murder of Paul Pinkney has not been made publicly available. The investigation into his death, along with the other related shootings, remains a painful and unresolved chapter for his family and the Brooklyn community.
