{"id":187937,"date":"2026-04-07T03:09:39","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T03:09:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/187937\/"},"modified":"2026-04-07T03:09:39","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T03:09:39","slug":"bronx-man-21-shot-to-death-over-loud-music-by-76-year-old-next-door-neighbor-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/187937\/","title":{"rendered":"Bronx man, 21, shot to death over loud music by 76-year-old next-door neighbor"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the moments before a 76-year-old Bronx man shot<\/a> his 21-year-old \u200bnext-door neighbor to death, the two argued through the wall over loud music, according to law enforcement sources.<\/p>\n

Gilbert Smalls is accused of shooting his much-younger neighbor Justin Chatfield on sight the moment the victim walked out his apartment\u2019s front door in the River Park Towers in Morris Heights at about 10:20 p.m. Thursday.<\/p>\n

After his arrest, Smalls told cops he had complained about the music coming from the victim\u2019s adjacent apartment on the 23rd floor of the 44-story tower on Richman Plaza near Sedgwick Ave.<\/p>\n

He claimed Chatfield responded \u201cf\u2013k you\u201d through the wall they share.<\/p>\n

Moments later, Smalls told police he heard seven shots fired outside his window, sources said. Cops have not determined if shots were actually fired.<\/p>\n

\u200bSmalls, who lives with his wife and told cops he is in poor health, then got his gun, a 9-mm. pistol that he keeps in a safe, and stepped into the hallway.<\/p>\n

He opened fire from his doorway, which is just inches away from the victim\u2019s front door, the moment Chatfield came to his own doorway, surveillance video obtained by investigators shows, according to law enforcement sources.<\/p>\n

After he was hit, Chatfield stumbled back into his apartment, seeking help from his mother, according to Walter Fields, an attorney and longtime friend of the family.<\/p>\n

\u201cHer baby, one of her babies, died in her arms,\u201d Fields told the Daily News last week.<\/p>\n

Medics rushed Chatfield to St. Barnabas Hospital<\/a>, but he could not be saved.<\/p>\n

When cops got to the scene they knocked on Smalls\u2019 door, planning to ask if they could view his Ring doorbell video, sources said.<\/p>\n

Instead, Smalls confessed. \u201cI\u2019m the one who shot him,\u201d one source quoted Smalls saying.<\/p>\n

Smalls then led police into his apartment and gave officers the key to the safe containing his gun, sources said.<\/p>\n

The suspect suggested he shot his neighbor thinking he may have been armed, sources said. He complained of health issues, telling cops he doesn\u2019t expect to \u201cmake it,\u201d presumably while behind bars, sources said.<\/p>\n

\u200bSmalls was ordered held without bail when he was arraigned on murder and gun possession charges in Bronx Criminal Court Saturday. His lawyer declined comment Monday.<\/p>\n

Sources said there had been previous tensions between Smalls and Chatfield, though it does not appear police had ever been called to their apartments.<\/p>\n

Chatfield had multiple arrests on his record, most recently for robbery in January 2025, cops said.<\/p>\n

A large makeshift memorial for Chatfield was set up outside the building as neighbors dealt with the aftermath of the shooting.<\/p>\n

Chatfield was expecting a child with his longtime girlfriend. The two were high school sweethearts, Fields said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was very close to having a baby \u2014 I mean, within months, he should be a new father,\u201d Fields said. \u201cHe was looking for work, going to trade schools. He was really trying to become a productive member. Support his family, support his child.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201c(His mother) is in really bad shape,\u201d Fields added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the moments before a 76-year-old Bronx man shot his 21-year-old \u200bnext-door neighbor to death, the two argued…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":187938,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[128,10158,74445,74199,9,24,63,129,131,130],"class_list":{"0":"post-187937","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-the-bronx","8":"tag-bronx","9":"tag-front-door","10":"tag-gilbert-smalls","11":"tag-justin-chatfield","12":"tag-new-york","13":"tag-new-york-city","14":"tag-nyc","15":"tag-the-bronx","16":"tag-the-bronx-headlines","17":"tag-the-bronx-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187937","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=187937"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187937\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/187938"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=187937"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=187937"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=187937"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}