PROSPECT HEIGHTS, Brooklyn (PIX11) — A Brooklyn woman was fatally shot in the back of the head during an argument with a man near the Barclays Center Wednesday night, according to police and witnesses.
Officers found Tamika Powell, 36, lying unconscious on the street near Carlton and Pacific avenues in Prospect Heights at around 10:20 p.m., according to the NYPD. Powell had a gunshot wound to the head and died at the scene, police said.
Her heartbroken mother, Norma Campbell, said her daughter was not perfect, but she didn’t deserve to die this way.
“She did whatever she wanted to do with no apologies, no regrets, but she had a big heart, a big loving heart,” Campbell said.
Witnesses told PIX11 News Powell was at a barbecue near Carlton and Atlantic avenues and left after she got into an argument with a man. The man then followed her for about a block to continue the fight. When Powell went to turn away, she was shot in the back of the head, witnesses said.
The people at the barbecue heard the gunfire. The incident occurred near the Barclays Center during the NBA draft, but investigators don’t believe the shooting was connected to the event.
The suspect has not been apprehended.
“You are a coward. You were bold enough to take a life. then come forward, no matter what the confrontation is, it didn’t need to get to this level,” Campbell said.
Submit tips to police by calling Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), visiting crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, downloading the NYPD Crime Stoppers mobile app, or texting 274637 (CRIMES) then entering TIP577. Spanish-speaking callers are asked to dial 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
Mira Wassef is a digital reporter who has covered news and sports in the NYC area for more than a decade. She has been with PIX11 News for two years. See more of her work here.
