A Brooklyn man stabbed to death outside a corner store was a fun-loving father and neighborhood fixture known for making people laugh, his broken-hearted family says.
Cowin Adams, 44, was was stabbed in the chest near the Mr. Carrot organic grocery store on Fulton St. near Albany Ave. in Bedford-Stuyvesant about 4:25 p.m. Saturday, cops said.
His cousin Janay said the father of four was a ladies man who liked to clown around and make people happy.
“He’ll make you laugh,” the cousin said. “I’m going to miss him.”
The victim was stabbed outside the store and ran inside for help before he collapsed, according to the store owner.
Adams was rushed by medics to Interfaith Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.
There have been no arrests.
A makeshift memorial of candles was set up a couple of doors down from the scene by friends of the victim, known in the neighborhood by his nickname, “Get Rite.”
His cousin said he got the nickname “because, you know, he was a ladies man — and he got right. And, you know, joked around all day.”
Janay said she couldn’t imagine what the dispute was about. A police source said the victim knew his attacker and that alcohol may have been a factor.
“He didn’t deserve this, no matter if he played all day or was the type of person to get under your skin,” Janay said. “It wasn’t like he was doing it maliciously, just to hurt you. He just was that individual that played all day, you know. So it’s just really, really sad that he’s not here any more.”
Whatever the dispute was, she said, she wished they could have settled it without a weapon.
“That’s the world we live in,” the cousin said. “They don’t fight anymore. They just pull out guns and knives and that’s the end of it. So this is the time that we live in.”
She said Adams had four children by different mothers and managed to make the family dynamic work.
“He was in his kids’ lives no matter what he went through with the baby moms,” the cousin said. “He just always made it there to be part of his kids’ lives, you know. So that’s one thing I love about him.”
Another cousin described Adams as “generous” and “caring.”
“He was very, very protective, a brave person,” she said. “It was just unexpected. Like I would not ever even have thought this could happen to him.”
The 79th Precinct covering covering Bedford-Stuyvesant has seen three murders so far this year through Sunday compared to one by the same point last year.
Citywide, homicides are down 35% this year, with 62 slayings so far compared to 95 during the same time frame last year.
Originally Published:
