Police sought answers Wednesday from a retired correction officer after his dispute with a pair of strangers ended with a fatal shooting . Former officer , Willie Groomes , 69 , shot Gilbert Drogheo at about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Borough Hall station in Brooklyn , police said . Drogheo 's uncle declared Groomes to be ' a murderer ' on Wednesday night . Scroll down for video ... Killed : Victim Gilbert Drogheo , 32 , was killed after a scuffle on the 4 train on Tuesday night . Altercation : Cell phone footage taken by a witness and shared with CBS New York shows an older man approaching a younger man at the subway station and getting into a scuffle before a shot is heard . Terrifying : A blurred figure can be seen near to where the altercation occurred on Tuesday evening . He said that his nephew was a dedicated electrician . 'He was a great kid , ' the uncle said . 'All he did was work , ' he told the Daily News . Investigators took Groomes into custody on Wednesday but later released him without charges . The shooting spread panic inside a subway station at the height of the evening rush hour when the retired officer , who 's 69 years old , boarded a Brooklyn-bound subway train in Manhattan . He was armed with a small Ruger handgun that he was licensed to carry in public . According to witnesses , it appeared that the former officer angered Drogheo , 32 , and another man by stepping in between them while they were talking , police said . Emergency : Ambulances carry away an injured man ; Gilbert Drogheo was pronounced dead in hospital after he was shot in the torso and the ex-corrections officer was taken away for treatment for a minor injury . The men and the officer argued before they pushed him down into an empty seat on the train , police said . All three men exited the train at the next stop in Brooklyn , where there was a second confrontation on the station 's mezzanine level , police said . The retired officer tussled with Drogheo before pulling his weapon and firing one round , which struck the victim in the chest , they said . New York Police Department officers assigned to the station heard the gunshot and quickly detained the shooting suspect . Drogheo , who was from Harlem , died at a hospital . The other man was taken into custody . Television station WCBS broadcast a cellphone video showing a man it identified as the retired officer cornering a smaller man near an exit in the subway station and pushing him . The men are seen struggling before a gunshot is heard and bystanders scatter . Subway passenger Thomas Berry , who witnessed the dispute , told the Daily News the older man had initially tried to avoid trouble . Rush hour shooting : A 32-year-old man was fatally shot by a retired corrections officer during the shooting . Deadly confrontation : Witnesses said the fight began when the older man stepped between two men . The officer told the other two men , `` Leave me alone . Do n't talk to me , '' Berry said . 'He was being really calm . ' But as the dispute grew more heated , the older man flashed a gun , Berry said . 'Everyone said 'gun ' and ran off the train , ' he said . ' I was standing there in shock . ' A cell phone video obtained by CBS New York revealed the moment the officer allegedly shot and fatally wounded Drogheo . The two exchange words and the older man apparently pushes the younger man , the video shows . Just seconds later , a shot is heard . Drogheo was shot in the torso . Other images captured by witnesses and shared with NBC show a man on the ground . He was rushed to Brooklyn Hospital Center , where he was pronounced dead . Fight : The 69-year-old gunman was reportedly heard telling his opponents , 'do n't touch me ' before the brawl . Tempers flare : The 69-year-old former jail guard got on the crowded train at Bowling Green station and was trying to walk past the duo when some words were exchanged . Witnesses described the chaotic scene after hearing the gunshot ricochet through the station during one of the busiest travel times of the day . Fatima Manuel told CBS she was confused by the sound at first . 'Like a 'pow , pow ' sound , ' she said . 'Sounded like a firecracker , but then I said : 'No , that 's not a firecracker . That 's more like a gunshot'. ' . Another subway user , Donny Dushi , added : 'It 's the scariest thing to even hear about . Wherever you are in the city - regardless if it 's Brooklyn , the city , Queens , just knowing the transportation you take every day , it can happen to anybody . '
A person identifying himself as the uncle of slain straphanger Gilbert Drogheo , Wednesday , called retired jailer Willie Groomes `` a murderer '' The ex-officer got into an argument with two young men aboard a southbound train on Tuesday afternoon after he stepped between them . The three men got off at Borough Hall and the officer and the argument turned physical between the officer and one of the men . Witness video showed the two men briefly scuffling before a shot went off . One of the men , Gilbert Drogheo , was shot in the torso and rushed to hospital , where he was later pronounced dead . The ex-officer had been carrying a 9-millimeter handgun and was questioned then released on 32 .