Man, 29, gunned down outside Brooklyn school he attended as child

A 29-year-old man was fatally shot outside a Brooklyn public school he attended as a child, as neighborhood Fourth of July fireworks obscured the sound of gunfire, officials and neighbors said.

The victim was standing outside the entrance of Public School 174, the Dumont School, on Dumont Ave. near Williams Ave. in Brownsville at about 11:45 p.m. Friday when he was shot in the chest, cops said.

The victim managed to get transportation to Brookdale University Hospital, where hospital staff found him at 1:30 a.m., said cops, who did not release his name.

Doctors scrambled to save him, but he died at the hospital a short time later, officials said.

A motive for the shooting was not immediately disclosed.

“We’re working backwards from the hospital,” a police source with knowledge of the case said.

Cops on Saturday were scouring the area looking for surveillance footage near the school that could help them identify the shooter.

Yellow crime scene tape blocked off the entrance to the school.

Cops have yet to release the victim’s name, but neighbors said he lived down the block and attended PS 174 as a child.

“He was such a sweet kid. He was beautiful,” said one neighbor, who wished not to be named. “He went to school there.”

The victim’s immediate family were too grief-stricken to talk Saturday. One relative said the victim “kept to himself” and was “always in good spirits.”

Neighbors said this part of Brownsville is usually quiet. No one heard the shooting because of all the fireworks popping off throughout the night.

The killing took place nearly three hours after the Macy’s Fourth of July fireworks show lit up the night sky over the East River to the delight of thousands.

Police said no other homicides or shootings were reported on July 4. Last Independence Day, four homicides occurred, cops said.

Originally Published: July 5, 2025 at 12:42 PM EDT