New Year’s homicide victim identified

A man shot and killed on New Year’s Day in Merced was identified Wednesday as 52-year-old Gary Brown.

Brown was shot and killed Jan. 1 in the 1300 block of West 12th Street, according to the Police Department. No arrests have been made and no suspect description has been released.

Police responded to the scene around 10:30 p.m. after receiving calls of shots fired and found the victim collapsed on the sidewalk, suffering from gunshot wounds. Paramedics attended to the victim, but he was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

Brown’s death was the first homicide reported in 2015. The incident marked the third straight year Merced County has reported a New Year’s Day homicide.

This story was originally published January 7, 2015 at 6:27 PM with the headline "New Year’s homicide victim identified."