Renowned psychology Prof. Jeremy D. Safran was beaten to death in his Brooklyn home on Monday by a hammer-wielding suspect.

Safran, 66, was allegedly beaten to death by a 28-year-old suspect police have yet to publicly identify.

The Daily Mail reports that the suspect is believed to have talked to Safran’s daughter in an effort to “case the home” before attacking. A neighbor reportedly saw the suspect breaking into the home later in the day, then heard “the sound of screaming coming from the basement.” She called Safran’s daughter, and police soon arrived to find Safran’s body.

Neighbor Jillian Daniels said the suspect walked to the home without any hint of being tense or anxious about what he was going to do. She said, “I saw him this morning when he was coming out of the car like he was coming from the supermarket.”

Police discovered the blood-covered 28-year-old suspect hiding in a closet in the home.

One of Safran’s other neighbors, Font Ravi Kisson, was overwhelmed by the violence of the act. PIX 11 quoted him saying, “Violent, very violent. So that scares the hell out of me. … We walk up and down here ever [sic] single night.”

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News, the host of the Breitbart podcast Bullets with AWR Hawkins, and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. Sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.