A neighbor dispute in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn ended in lethal violence in the early morning hours on Thomas S. Boyland Street. Leroy Wallace, 41, was shot inside an apartment building, stumbled outside and collapsed on the sidewalk. Emergency medical services found him just before 6 a.m. with a gunshot wound to the chest; he was pronounced dead at the scene. A shotgun shell casing was recovered in the building’s vestibule, indicating the shooting occurred indoors.

About two hours later, as officers were guarding the scene, 24-year-old Deshaawn Laro opened his first-floor apartment door and fired a shotgun at Officer Sharjeel Waris, striking the officer in the face with birdshot. Officer Waris returned fire; Laro retreated and barricaded himself. The NYPD Emergency Service Unit breached a window and used a drone that showed Laro motionless on the kitchen floor with a shotgun nearby. ESU entry confirmed Laro was deceased; investigators later determined the fatal wound was caused by the officer’s shot. No prior New York City arrests for Laro were reported.

Did anyone in the Brownsville neighborhood witness the argument or see activity around the building that morning?