In the moments before a 76-year-old Bronx man shot his 21-year-old next-door neighbor to death, the two argued through the wall over loud music, according to law enforcement sources.
Gilbert Smalls is accused of shooting his much-younger neighbor Justin Chatfield on sight the moment the victim walked out his apartment’s front door in the River Park Towers in Morris Heights at about 10:20 p.m. Thursday.
After his arrest, Smalls told cops he had complained about the music coming from the victim’s adjacent apartment on the 23rd floor of the 44-story tower on Richman Plaza near Sedgwick Ave.
He claimed Chatfield responded “f–k you” through the wall they share.
Moments later, Smalls told police he heard seven shots fired outside his window, sources said. Cops have not determined if shots were actually fired.
Smalls, 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.
He opened fire from his doorway, which is just inches away from the victim’s front door, the moment Chatfield came to his own doorway, surveillance video obtained by investigators shows, according to law enforcement sources.
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.
“Her baby, one of her babies, died in her arms,” Fields told the Daily News last week.
Medics rushed Chatfield to St. Barnabas Hospital, but he could not be saved.
When cops got to the scene they knocked on Smalls’ door, planning to ask if they could view his Ring doorbell video, sources said.
Instead, Smalls confessed. “I’m the one who shot him,” one source quoted Smalls saying.
Smalls then led police into his apartment and gave officers the key to the safe containing his gun, sources said.
The suspect suggested he shot his neighbor thinking he may have been armed, sources said. He complained of health issues, telling cops he doesn’t expect to “make it,” presumably while behind bars, sources said.
Smalls 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.
Sources said there had been previous tensions between Smalls and Chatfield, though it does not appear police had ever been called to their apartments.
Chatfield had multiple arrests on his record, most recently for robbery in January 2025, cops said.
A large makeshift memorial for Chatfield was set up outside the building as neighbors dealt with the aftermath of the shooting.
Chatfield was expecting a child with his longtime girlfriend. The two were high school sweethearts, Fields said.
“He was very close to having a baby — I mean, within months, he should be a new father,” Fields said. “He was looking for work, going to trade schools. He was really trying to become a productive member. Support his family, support his child.”
“(His mother) is in really bad shape,” Fields added.