CROWN HEIGHTS — A man was found fatally shot in the head and back in the Kingsborough Houses Wednesday night, police said.
"He was a beautiful son. I lost a beautiful son," said the man's mother, Taidy Ellington, 54.
Miguel Zuniga, 21, was discovered lying in the lobby of 708 Kingsborough 7 Walk about 10:48 p.m., NYPD officials said.
Zuniga, who lived in the housing complex, was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
The circumstances of the shooting weren't immediately clear, police said.
There were no immediate arrests, NYPD officials said.
Family and friends gathered around a makeshift memorial near the scene of the shooting Thursday morning to remember Zuniga, who liked basketball and video games.
"He was a very sweet person, generous, friendly. My heart hurts. It's very difficult," said Ellington in her living room at the apartment building.
Zuniga knew Ellington had adopted him and his three siblings, but it didn't matter to him — she was his mom, she said.
"I'm going to miss his love. He was very sweet," Ellington said. "I saw him Tuesday. He sat down right here, kissed me and hugged me... He told me he loved me."
Friends remembered Zuniga as an easy-going music lover who liked to listen to Future.
"That was my life friend. That was my day one. He was always a happy person," said Jerry Parks, 21, through tears. "He didn't want to get into no drama."
Relatives said Zuniga joined them Sunday at services at the Church of New Beginnings.
"He called my sister early, said, 'Don't forget, I'm going to church with you. What time are we leaving?" said relative Catherine Banks, 68, "He looked so happy. I think he wanted to make peace with God."
His family knew the Kingsborough Houses were dangerous for him and desperately tried to keep him from the violence, they said.
"We tried to keep him away from Kingsborough, but he kept coming back," said his brother, Omar Baltazar, 29. "It's the same thing: fighting, gun violence. Not everyone around here is positive."
