BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Buffalo police are investigating a January 1 death which may turn out to be the city's first homicide of 2025.
Shortly before 6:30 a.m. Buffalo firefighters responded to a call on Ivy Street between Walden Avenue and Genesee Street. They found a man who had suffered "apparent" gunshot wounds. He was declared dead at the scene.
One neighbor, who didn't want to give her name, said she recognized the victim as a homeless man who was friends with her son and whom her family had helped out on occasion.
She said she heard some noises outside overnight but didn't make much of them because it was New Year's Eve. Then Wednesday morning, she was taking her dog outside when she noticed something on the ground. She realized it was a person and she called 911.
"It turned out that it was someone I do know," the woman told me. "It kind of hurt because he was laying there that whole time and I didn't know it was him."
Police have not released the name of the victim. No arrests have been made.
Police asked anyone with information about the incident to call or text the Buffalo police confidential TIP CALL line at 716-847-2255.
