He was shot at 1535 Taylor Ave. and treated at Jacobi hospital, the FDNY said. View Full Caption DNAinfo/Eddie Small

THE BRONX — A man was fatally shot in the head while clutching his baby daughter outside a Parkchester apartment building Tuesday afternoon, family members and police said.

Allen McQueen, 21, was standing outside 1535 Taylor Ave., directly across the street from Taylor Playground, and holding his 1-year-old daughter, Taylor, at about 1:20 p.m. when a masked gunman stepped out from behind a car and fired several times, witnesses and NYPD officials said.

McQueen started running but a bullet hit him from behind, police said.

A witness who was standing nearby said he heard two gunshots and then a woman came running into the lobby of his building holding the baby.

"She was screaming. She was like, 'Check the baby! The baby's got blood on her!'" said the witness, who declined to give his name.

Suspect Flees After Gunning Down Father, Police Say View Full Caption NYPD

The infant appeared calm, witnesses said. She was treated for a bump on her head at Jacobi hospital, police said.

"She looked alright. The baby wasn't even crying. She just was like holding onto the lady."

Neighbors initially thought the shooting was part of a delayed Independence Day celebration.

"We just thought it was fireworks. When we looked he was just laying [on the ground] shaking like he was having a seizure," said Hector Ortiz, 53, who was standing in Taylor Playground when the shooting happened.

"I was telling the kids to get out of the park. They were screaming."

Jaleen Soriano, 9, whose mother let him share his account, was one of the children in the playground when the shooting happened.

The child said that McQueen saw the gunman approaching and yelled at the kids to "get out the park, get out the park!"

Relatives were heartbroken by his death, remembering him as a caring dad.

"He was dedicated to his daughter, he loved kids," his grieving sister, Jennifer McQueen, 35, said. "He helped others as much as he could."

McQueen used to play basketball with some of the kids in the park, Jaleen added.

"We used to play basketball. He used to call me 'little Bill,'" the boy said said. "He used to give me a dollar. I'd buy candy."

McQueen's sister said he was living with his girlfriend on Taylor Avenue and that she had tried to convince him to move back into her house.

"I just felt a bad vibe," the sister said, tears running down her face. "This s**t just upset my whole world. I feel like I didn't protect him."

McQueen was pronounced dead at Jacobi hospital, police said.

Police released footage of the suspected gunman who fled the scene in a gray Mercedes with New York plates. He had not been arrested as of Tuesday night, police said.

McQueen had 23 prior arrests and had been involved in gang activity, a police source said.

Anthony Iglesia, who lives near where the shooting happened, said the area has gotten more violent over the past couple months.

"I've been here 32 years," he said. "This neighborhood has never been this way."

Additional reporting by Ben Fractenberg and Gwynne Hogan.