A 7-year-old boy and a married couple were found dead in a Bedford-Stuyvesant apartment early Tuesday, police and relatives said.
The victims, identified by relatives as 44-year-old David Sherrod and 51-year-old Alma Cox-Sherrod and Cox-Sherrod's grandson Jaquan, all had gunshot wounds to the head. A firearm was recovered at the scene, police said. A medical examiner will determine the cause of death.
Detectives believe Sherrod shot his wife and her grandson but no motive was immediately apparent.
Neighbor Barbara Peoples said she was shocked. It wasn't the first time the block has seen this kind of violence.
"In two years, this is the second time this kind of incident has happened," she said. " It happened in this building two years ago, a homicide-suicide on the fourth floor."
Authorities found the bodies in apartment 2A on Lafayette Avenue after someone called 911 to report a foul odor at about 2 a.m.
"It was horrible," said the woman, who did not want to give her name. "I saw some flies, too. And we called the cops."
Relatives of the adult victims said they worked for a management company that runs several buildings on the block. They had been married for two and a half years.
David Sherrod's sister, Diane Bennett, said she had no idea what could have happened.
"My brother was in good spirits, we talked ... like we always do. He was normal," Bennett told NBC 4 New York.
Police have yet to confirm the time of the shooting, though neighbors tell NBC 4 New York they believe it happened during a loud block party on Saturday.
Peoples said she thought she heard three gunshots that afternoon. When her grandson reminded her July 4 was just around the corner, "I said, 'Them was not firecrackers.'"
The investigation is ongoing.
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