A pre-dawn shooting at the Gowanus Houses left 19-year-old Ramone Ortiz dead. Just before 4 a.m. on October 12, 2017, police found Ortiz behind a building on Bond Street with a gunshot wound to the chest; paramedics transported him to Brooklyn Hospital, where he died. Ortiz lived in the same housing project, reportedly just around the corner from where he was found.

Within a day the NYPD had two local suspects in custody. Andre Alberto, 17, was identified as the alleged shooter and charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon. An 18-year-old companion, Noelvis Hernandez, was charged with criminal possession of a weapon and tampering with physical evidence. Authorities said the shooting may have been connected to gang rivalry tied to a recent robbery; Ortiz was reportedly a member of a Gowanus-based crew known as Oww-Oww.

Anyone with information about the events of October 12, 2017, or Ortiz’s activities in the neighborhood is asked to come forward.