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Man Shot At Point Blank Range Across from Parole Office in Downtown BK

By  Janet Upadhye and Janon Fisher | August 27, 2014 4:16pm 

 A gunman shot a man at point blank range in broad daylight across the street from a parole office in Downtown Brooklyn Wednesday afternoon.
Livingston and Nevins Streets Shooting
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DOWNTOWN BROOKLYN — A gunman shot a man at point blank range in broad daylight across the street from a parole office Wednesday afternoon, but was chased down and tackled by some of the lawmen nearby, according to police and witnesses.

The dramatic scene unfolded in front of Angelica Pizza and Restaurant at 30 Nevins St., near Livingston Street, about 2:30 p.m. when Lance Aponte, 25, who had just been released from jail Thursday, started arguing with two other men, police and a witness said.

One of the men, Christopher Gray, 24, put a pistol to the victim's head as the argument escalated, police and the witness said.

"When the gun was held to his head he was struggling to get it off his head," said the witness whose name is being withheld.

Gray fired twice, hitting the Aponte's knee, the police and witness said. He suffered a head injury during the argument, but was not grazed in the head as had been previously reported, police said.

"The man was shot, I saw a little bit of blood, but then the man said 'I want to stand up,' but couldn't stand up," the witness said.

Parole officers across the street at 340 Livingston St. chased the Gray less than half a block, wrestled him to the ground and handcuffed him, according to the state Department of Correctional Services and another witness.

One of the officers suffered minor injuries in the scuffle.

John Ruta, 50, who lives in the neighborhood, was walking by the parole office when he heard the shots and saw the foot chase.

"It's just another day in Brooklyn," Ruta said.

Both the Gray and Aponte were in custody but had not been charged as of Wednesday afternoon, police said. It was not immediately clear why the victim was facing charges.

Aponte was released from Rikers Island Thursday

Detectives could be seen reviewing surveillance video of the scene from the pizza parlor.