Seventeen-year-old Derek Tiucios was shot and killed on the afternoon of Wednesday, October 28, 2020, in Brooklyn. A junior at Sunset Park High School who hoped to become a doctor, he had celebrated his seventeenth birthday with his family just six days earlier.

At approximately 2:30 p.m. Derek and a 16-year-old friend were in the Flatbush neighborhood in front of 436 East 26th Street near Foster Avenue when an individual attempted to rob them. A struggle followed and the suspect opened fire. Derek was struck in the chest and stomach and later died at Kings County Hospital; his friend was shot in the hand and treated in stable condition. A handgun was recovered at the scene.

The killing left the residential neighborhood stunned and Derek’s family grieving a young life cut short. Does anyone who was in Flatbush that afternoon or who knew Derek have information to share?