Man shot dead in Bronx apartment stairwell in homicide that snapped 12-day murder-less streak in NYC

Police are questioning a suspect after a man was found shot to death inside a Bronx stairwell on Sunday night — a homicide that ended a record-tying 12-day murder-less streak in New York City.

According to police sources, the deadly shooting occurred just after 9:05 p.m. on Dec. 7 inside the Sotomayor Houses located at 1744 Watson Ave. in Soundview.

Officers from the 43rd Precinct and Police Service Area 8 received a 911 call of a person shot inside one of the building’s stairwells.

Upon arrival, law enforcement discovered 38-year-old Gregory Stewart, of Barnes Avenue in Wakefield, inside the stairwell with a gunshot wound to the head.

EMS rushed him to NYC Health+Hospitals/Jacobi, where he was pronounced dead.

According to police sources, the deadly shooting occurred just after 9:05 p.m. on Dec. 7 inside the Sotomayor Houses located at 1744 Watson Ave. in Soundview.Photo via Google Maps

A person of interest was taken into custody for questioning. A motive for the deadly shooting and charges are pending the results of the ongoing investigation.

Shootings in the 43rd Precinct are up in 2025 by 30% when compared to 2024.

Nevertheless, Sunday’s deadly shooting was the first murder reported in New York City since Nov. 25. The 12-day streak tied the longest stretch without a homicide since the NYPD began tracking crime numbers. The previous 12-day murder-less span happened a decade ago, in 2015.

Just 16 homicides were reported citywide in November 2025. That tied the all-time record of fewest homicides reported in a single month in NYPD history, set back in November 2018.

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch attributed the record-long streak without a homicide to the department’s efforts to combat violent crime citywide. This includes deploying additional officers and other resources to high-crime areas of the city as part of the department’s Fall Violence Reduction Plan.

Shootings in the “Fall Zones,” as the NYPD described these areas, are down 40% during the hours when additional resources are being deployed.

“Right strategy. Great execution. That’s how you set record after record,” Tisch said in a statement. “Thank you to the members of the NYPD who have sacrificed so much this year to drive down violent crime to record lows.”