Police: Elderly Brooklyn Man Shot Brother, Then Committed Suicide
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A dispute between brothers in Brooklyn led to a shooting and then a suicide, according to police.
Police said there had been an ongoing dispute over rent between 74-year-old Thomas Athanastos and his 63-year-old brother, James.
WCBS 880's Marla Diamond reports
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Police said things turned violent Tuesday night when Thomas allegedly attacked his younger brother outside the family home on 43rd Street in Borough Park.
"Thomas assaulted James with a blunt instrument, possibly a handmade gun that he'd made and also shot him four times in the neck," NYPD Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne told WCBS 880's Marla Diamond.
Police said the wounded brother was taken to Lutheran Hospital.
Thomas then apparently committed suicide. The 74-year-old was found by detectives Wednesday during a search of the home.
"Detectives are working under the premise that Thomas believed he had killed his younger bother and then committed suicide. There was a lot of blood on the scene," Browne told Diamond.
James was being treated for his injuries at the hospital and is expected to survive.
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