The sorrow spilled over on Ash Avenue, as longtime friends of Thomas Shanis learned the worst.
The 32-year-old was stabbed over and over in his own /*Flushing*/ apartment and steps from his own mother.
"She goes to the bathroom and sees her son there. That's horrible. I'm wondering what she's going through right now," Myra Ace, a neighbor said.
His mother, in her 60's, found the bloody body and screamed for help, but it was too late to save his life.
Paramedics pronounced him dead, as police got to work.
Late Tuesday morning, investigators say two intruders, one of them wearing a mask, burst into the sixth floor apartment Shanis shared with his mother, bound him with tape, and stabbed him repeatedly in the back.
Though the two men ran off carrying a duffel bag, it's not clear if they stole any cash.
Police are now scouring neighborhood security cameras for clues.
Friends say Shanis used to work as a construction worker, but lately had been home, taking care of his mother.
"He's going to be missed, horrible thing to happen in our neighborhood," Ace said.
