By Anna Gustafson
A Long Island City man died last weekend on the grounds of the complex where he had spent much of his life after being shot at the Queensbridge Houses, police and friends said.
Stefan Middleton, 34, suffered the fatal gunshot wound to the torso early Saturday morning in front of 40-16 12th St. at the Queensbridge Houses, according to police. He was taken to Elmhurst Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
No arrests have been made and police said the investigation was ongoing.
Middleton grew up in and still lived in Queensbridge Houses, the largest public housing complex in the country, according to friends who gathered around a memorial site where he was shot. Candles, cognac, an Uptown Communications & Electric sweatshirt and flowers were piled on top of a sidewalk still stained with blood.
“He had a lot of friends here,” said one man who did not want to give his name. “He was a good guy.”
Those gathered at the memorial said they did not know if he worked for Uptown Communications & Electric.
Raymond Normandeau, secretary of the Queensbridge Houses’ tenants association,, said he hopes the police will be forthcoming with information about the murder.
“All that is known is based on hearsay,” Normandeau wrote in a prepared statement. “Apparently two people were arguing at 40-16 12th St. A third person intervened. That third person was shot and killed. An all too familiar memorial is now on the sidewalk.”
The last murder at Queensbridge was in April, when police said a drug-related shooting left one man dead and two others wounded. According to the District Attorney, three men had gone to an apartment of a Queensbridge building at 41-17 Vernon Blvd. to rob the occupants. Once the alleged robbers made their way outside the building, they were approached by Michael Martin, 32, of upstate New York and two other men. One of the robbers pulled out a gun and opened fire, police said. Martin was shot in the chest and died. The other two men were also shot but survived.
Reach reporter Anna Gustafson by e-mail at agustafson@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4574.
