A teenager is dead after an alleged gang-related shooting in Brownsville.
According to police, 18-year-old Donnell Russell was killed in the courtyard of the Tilden Houses on Livonia Avenue Monday night, just a few buildings over from where he lived inside the NYCHA complex.
Investigators say the shooting was the result of a turf war between rival gangs in the area, but family members claim Russell was not in a gang. His mom says he just graduated from John Jay High School, planned to go to college to become an EMT and spent time at a nearby community center.
Neighbors complain that there is a lot of crime, despite security cameras, because many of the lights outside are broken. They say they've reached out to NYCHA about the problem, but the lights still haven't been repaired.
Cops have not yet made any arrests.