In the early morning hours after a night of Fourth of July celebrations, the sounds of fireworks that had filled the Brooklyn air were tragically pierced by the sound of gunfire. On a residential block in the New Lots neighborhood, a 29-year-old Black man named Tyrone Simmons was shot in the chest. The violence erupted just after midnight in front of P.S.
174 on Dumont Avenue, a school Simmons himself had attended as a child.
In the immediate aftermath, Simmons was rushed to Brookdale University Hospital by private means, not by an ambulance. Despite the urgent efforts of the emergency room staff, his injuries were too severe. Shortly after his arrival at the hospital, Tyrone Simmons was pronounced dead. Police were notified of the shooting by the hospital staff at approximately 1:32 a.m.
Officers from the 75th Precinct responded to the scene of the shooting, cordoning off the area in front of the school to search for evidence and canvass for any potential witnesses. Neighbors later recalled the celebratory noise of the holiday, a backdrop that was abruptly shattered by the sudden act of violence. In the days that followed, the community mourned the loss of the young man. However, authorities have not yet publicly identified a suspect or a motive in the shooting. The investigation into the death of Tyrone Simmons remains active and ongoing, with detectives appealing to the public for any information that might lead to an arrest. To date, no arrests have been made, and the killer remains at large.
