Richard Brown, a 59-year-old Black man, was shot dead on the evening of Thursday, October 3, 2024, inside an apartment at the Ocean Bay Apartments, a NYCHA complex in the Arverne section of the Rockaways, Queens. Officers from the 101st Precinct responded to a 911 call at 319 Beach 54th St. and found Brown unconscious with multiple gunshot wounds to the head. Emergency medical personnel pronounced him dead at the scene.

Friends said Brown had been trying to overcome a drug dependency. New York Police Department homicide detectives are investigating; no arrests have been announced and no suspects have been publicly identified. The investigation remains active.

If anyone has information about what happened that night or knew Richard, please share tips with the NYPD homicide detectives handling the case.