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Mother Finds Man, 19, Shot To Death In Bronx Bedroom

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A Bronx mother made a heartbreaking discovery Sunday, finding her 19-year-old son shot to death in his bedroom.

As CBS2's Brian Conybeare reported, this was not the first tragedy to hit the family.

Police were called at 12:33 p.m. after the man was shot inside a first-floor on Southern Boulevard near Westchester Avenue in the Foxhurst section of the Bronx, the NYPD said. Police told CBS2 the man's mother found him in his bedroom.

The man -- Jose Hart, 19 -- was unconscious and unresponsive with gunshots to the torso, police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

There were tears and anguish Sunday night at the scene of the mysterious homicide.

"That's my brother! I miss him," said the victim's friend Julio Rodriguez. "I can't believe that he's away, like, I'm never going to see him again."

Friends and family wanted to know who killed Hart and why. His heartsick mother was devastated after finding him.

"It's going to hurt his mom the most, because his mom just lost his father – you feel me? And it hurts," Rodriguez said.

Distraught friends gathered to light candles in honor of the fun-loving young man they called "Fratz."

"He make all of us laugh. We're going to miss him. We're going to miss him – dearly, dearly, dearly," said another friend, Larry Johnson.

Hart's friends said he stayed out of trouble and was trying to get a high school diploma, in order to set an example for his younger sister.

"He was a good kid," Johnson said. "Every time I spoke to him on Facebook – anything – he was always talking about how he was going to get his life better and all that!"

Friends told CBS2's Conybeare that Hart's father was recently killed in a motorcycle crash. Now, his mother has to plan another funeral.

The New York City Medical Examiner's office will determine the cause of Hart's death. Police told CBS2 Hart's death did not appear to be a suicide.

Police said there was no information about anyone who heard the gunshots, but shell casings were found in the room with the body.

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