By Jon Schuppe
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
HARLEM — A 21-year-old man was stabbed to death in a fight outside an Edgecombe Avenue apartment building early Tuesday, police said.
Police responded to the scene just before 1:30 a.m. and found the victim suffering from a stab wound to his torso. He was taken to Harlem Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to NYPD.
One resident of the block said she happened upon the scene outside 393 Edgecombe Ave. immediately after the incident and saw a bloody shirt and other remnants of the fight. For hours, crime scene investigators searched for evidence in the street and on the benches and strip of grass that overlook Jackie Robinson Park.
It was not clear Tuesday morning what sparked the brawl. One man who lives in the apartment building nearest to the scene said he believed it involved a youth gang.
Police said they had made no arrests, and they had not released the name of the victim because his family had yet to be notified.
It was the second killing this year on the block of Edgecombe Avenue between West 150th and West 155th streets alongside Jackie Robinson Park. In February, 17-year-old Ruben Larios was shot to death in the lobby of his building at 381 Edgecombe Ave.
The 30th Precinct, which covers the block, has seen a spike in murders recently. There have been five so far this year, compared to just one in all of 2009, according to NYPD statistics.
