The victims were identified as Curtis Brown and Egbert Rutherford.
NEW YORK — A Bronx widow mourned Friday as police searched for gunmen who killed her husband and another man during a late-night shooting near a Soundview street gathering.
Police said the shooting happened just after 10 p.m. Thursday near 1643 Westchester Ave., close to Harrod Avenue and the Morrison Avenue-Soundview subway station. The victims, 43-year-old Curtis Brown and 53-year-old Egbert Rutherford, were taken to Jacobi Hospital and pronounced dead.
Angelique Irving-Rutherford said Rutherford was her husband of 13 years and her partner for about three decades. She said he and Brown were Jamaican-born friends who often joined others outside for dominoes. “You take away my family,” she said as she described the loss.
Police said both men were shot multiple times. Witnesses reported chaos after the shots, with people running from the block. One victim fell near the shooting scene, while the other made it around a corner before collapsing. Emergency workers tried to save them before they were taken to the hospital.
Irving-Rutherford said her husband had been outside earlier with their granddaughter, then brought the child inside before returning outdoors. She said a minor clash may have started before the shooting, when another man bumped into Rutherford and an argument followed.
Investigators have not released a confirmed motive. They also have not said whether Brown, Rutherford or the gathering was targeted. Police taped off the block, collected shell casings and searched the neighborhood Friday for camera footage that could show the suspects’ movements.
The shooting left neighbors shaken along a busy stretch of Westchester Avenue, a commercial corridor beneath the elevated No. 6 line. Photos and video from the scene showed officers and crime scene investigators working near marked evidence while traffic moved around the closed area.
Rutherford’s work as a caretaker became part of the grief on the block. Collin Cross, who said Rutherford cared for him, said he could not believe Rutherford was gone. Irving-Rutherford said her husband was generous and often helped feed people in the park.
Police said no arrests had been made by Friday evening. Detectives continued to seek multiple suspects and were reviewing surveillance video from nearby buildings and businesses.
Author note: Last updated June 20, 2026.