By Trevor Kapp and Wil Cruz
DNAinfo Staff
BROOKLYN — A 34-year-old father of four was shot and killed in the lobby of a Flatbush building Wednesday afternoon, police and relatives said.
The victim, who a police source and relatives identified as Shamell Smith, had a bullet wound to his head when cops arrived at 320 Empire Blvd., near Flatbush Avenue, shortly before 1 p.m., cops said.
"I heard two shots," said Decolby McCalla, 33, a fourth-floor resident in the building.
McCalla said that he heard someone yelling in another language right before the gunfire.
"Then I heard a thump," he said. "I thought it was wood falling."
Paramedics rushed to the scene, where the man was pronounced dead, police said.
Loved ones at the scene said Smith, who worked at a local printing firm, had four children — three boys, ages 18, 16, 15, and a 10-year-old daughter — and would do anything for them.
"He loved his kids," Sandra Dobson, 36, who has a 16-year-old son with the victim. "He would go to movies, go out to eat."
Dobson added that Smith would go the extra mile for friends and relatives, too.
"He was a kind guy," she added. "If he's got it, you got it."
Smith didn't have any problems with anybody, Dobson added — particularly a beef that would end in such violence.
"That's why this is so shocking," she added. "Because he has no enemies."
No one has been arrested, but witnesses told cops that a suspect fled on foot, police said.
