A Pennsylvania man visiting the city was stabbed early Monday in a Brooklyn park, stumbled into the vestibule of his brother’s nearby apartment building and collapsed there — ultimately being rushed to an area hospital where he died, according to cops and a relative.
Maurice Freeman, 30, arrived at his brother’s home on Shore Parkway near 21st Ave. in Bath Beach around 11 p.m. Friday, the grieving sibling told the Daily News.
“I hadn’t seen him in about six years,” Zee Zantana, 31, said Monday night. “He introduced me to his girl.”
Zantana noticed his brother’s girlfriend appeared to be on drugs, “but because I loved him I looked past it,” the man said.
Early Monday morning, Freeman argued with his girlfriend on the street outside the building, according to neighbors and Zantana.
“They were out here smoking, drinking and fighting,” said a 44-year-old neighbor who asked not to be named. “They were raising a ruckus at about 3 in the morning.”
At some point during the chaotic night, Freeman came back into his brother’s apartment.
“He came in and his shirt was all a mess,” said Zantana. “He said they were arguing.”
Freeman then left the apartment again to check on his girlfriend and “make sure she was alright,” Zantana said.
“He went back out and I never saw him again,” said the devastated brother.
Around 3:30 a.m., police were called to the building lobby, where Freeman had collapsed after being stabbed multiple times in the groin.
The attack appears to have happened about 500 feet away in Bensonhurst Park, with Freeman trailing blood from there to the building.
Medics rushed him to NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn, where he died around 6 a.m.
“I can’t believe it,” said Zantana. “I never saw this coming.”
Freeman lived in Sunbury, Penn., and was visiting his brother to celebrate a recent business success.
“He came into the city to do music and make videos,” said Zantana. “He was happy for me because my music has been taking off.”
The slain man had one daughter.
“He was funny and he was loving,” said Zantana. “He loved his family and our mom more than anything.”
Freeman’s girlfriend disappeared after the stabbing, according to Zantana and his girlfriend, who noted she’s pointed the woman’s photo out to police.
No arrests had been made as of Monday night.
