A woman was killed and her daughter was wounded after a relative shot them this morning in their Brooklyn brownstone, law-enforcement sources said.
The dead woman’s brother, William Thurman, 70, was taken into custody at the scene, the sources said. Charges were pending.
Carol Lovell, 63, was shot in the chest in the basement of her Flatbush home around 9:50 a.m. on East 25th Street near Avenue D, and rushed to Kings County Hospital in critical condition, the sources said. She was pronounced dead on arrival.
Her 37-year-old daughter, Crystal Birk, was grazed in the head, according to the sources. She was listed in stable condition. A neighbor said she was talking and crying when paramedics hauled her out on a stretcher.
Investigators believe that Thurman blasted the women after they tried to evict him for not paying his share of the rent, a source said.
“I’m really surprised, this neighborhood is like an oasis,” said Roslyn Hunter, 64, who lives across the street, and knew both victims. “It’s horrible to see somebody you know, who just got shot in the head. It’s a terrible thing.”
A firearm was recovered at the scene, cops said.
Neighbors said Thurman kept to himself was often spotted standing in front of the house.
“He always looked strange to me,” said Yanick Puzo, 60, who said that he never joined the rest of his family at neighborhood tea parties, and underwent dialysis treatments three times a week. “He was a sick person.”
“He’s just a quiet guy, he doesn’t talk much,” said neighbor Roland Roberts. “He’s always sweeping the street, and making the front of his house look clean.”