Investigators are looking into whether an ongoing gang war claimed the life of a 34-year-old Brooklyn man shot just two months after he was paroled for a double-killing, law enforcement sources said.
Tahriq Thompson, 34, was killed on June 29, when a bullet tore into his right arm just before 3 a.m. near Riverdale Ave. and Osborn St. in Brownsville.
“My brother didn’t deserve this at all,” Thompson’s brother Jammel Thompson said. “ I’m trying my hardest to hold it together … They took a piece of me and they took a piece of the community.“
Thompson served more than a decade in prison after killing two men as a teen at a pre-West Indian Day Parade barbecue in September 2009 before being released to parole in April, public records show. He was arrested in 2009 for the double killing, which took place just a few short blocks from where he would be shot to death 16 years later.
“Tahriq was a great individual,” his brother said. “He was starting a family real estate business. He was also helping others get started in business.”
Thompson’s death is believed to be connected to an ongoing beef between the Folk Nation gang, which operates out of Brownsville, and a rival crew in Coney Island, law enforcement sources said.
Thompson lived in Starrett City, Police have made no arrests.
On Thursday, about 50 people gathered in the courtyard of Riverdale Osborne Towers, outside the gates near where Thompson was slain, to light white votive candles in his memory.
“He was trying to reach the youth,” his brother said. “He wanted you to win. He wanted to help you succeed, no questions asked. Whatever he could do for y’all he would.”
Jammel Thompson said his brother inspired him to run for City Council this year, in District 41 in Brooklyn. He came in third place in the June 24 Democratic primary, losing to incumbent Darlene Mealy.
“What he was doing was a large part of why I was running for City Council,” Jammel Thompson said of his brother. “He knew what I should do before I knew.”
Tahriq Thompson was visiting friends when he was killed, his brother said.
“He was here (at the shooting scene) just three minutes,” his sibling said. “I’m shocked. Very much so.”
“With Tahriq every day was a smile,” he added. “He was happy for his family. He was happy for his friends.”
Jammel Thompson declined to address his brother’s criminal background.
About 5:45 a.m. Sept. 7, 2009, Tahriq Thompson, then 18, opened fire at a group of people barbecuing in an alley on Chester St. in Brownsville, killing two men, Marvin Brown, 25, and David Harris, 26.
He took a plea deal, 25 years for manslaughter, with the sentence imposed in 2012. But a decade later, a state appeals court ruled he should have been given youthful offender status and ordered him re-sentenced. His new reduced sentence was for 18 years in prison.
His appeals lawyer, Zachary Segal, called his death “shocking news,” and said he’d become friends with Thompson while working on his case.
“During his incarceration, Tahriq became what can only be described as a beacon of light within prison,” Segal said.
For his re-sentencing, Segal presented the judge letters from inmates and correctional staff. One inmate wrote, according to Segal, “Thompson made me believe in myself when I couldn’t see beyond prison walls. He helped uncloud my vision, which made all the difference in the world. If it wasn’t for Mr. Thompson’s commitment, on not giving up on me, I would not have received my G.E.D. in 2016.”
One correction officer wrote that he’s never encountered anyone like Thompson during his more than 20 years on the job, according to Segal.
“From the moment he arrived at this facility he has shown great character and have been a positive role model amongst the young and older population,” the correction officer wrote. “If anybody deserves a second chance it’s Mr. Thompson. Tahriq and I know with that chance he will not only be a great asset to any company, but to his community and the world.”
Thompson focused on the future, the attorney said, despite his time in prison and the trauma of his past.
“That the streets claimed him just as he was beginning his second lease on life, that he earned through changing himself, through rising up others, is just heartbreaking,” he said.
With Colin Mixson